Warriors: Unknown Origin
by Bubblewing-luvs-anime
Summary: Bubblepaw is a RiverClan apprentice. She is a loyal cat. But she is about to find out a devastating secret about herself that will change her life forever, filling it with lies, action, forbidden love and even the beginning of the Clans of the forest.
1. Allegiances

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_I apologize as some of these names may come across as cliché-d....and they have some mistakes that refuse to be fixedT_T. Also, some colours may seem, er, off for cats, but please use your imagination and come past that!XDXDXDXD Please try to come past all of that and like the story for itself. ;) Thank you!(some of my friends helped me make them up, in a way)_

Don't like the names? See chapter 9.

RiverClan

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LEADER: SAPPHIRESTAR-

Blueish gray she-cat with ice-blue eyes.

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DEPUTY: DREAMFUR-

Orange-and-white tom with amber eyes.

APPRENTICE, BUBBLEPAW

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MEDICNE CAT: HONEYCLAW-

Amber colored she-cat with dark brown eyes.

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WARRIORS

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BEARTOOTH-

Light brown tom with dark brown eyes.

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GOLDENCLAW-

Dark she-cat with yellow eyes and sharp, shiny claws. Bubblepaw, Nightpaw, and Mistypaw's mother.****

APPRENTICE, CLOUDPAW

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LIONFOOT-

Large orange, black, white and brown tom with shaggy fur and large paws and blue eyes.

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BRIGHTPELT-

A light gray she-cat with green eyes.****

APPRENTICE,RUNNINGPAW

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GRASSFUR-

Odly greenish she-cat with deep green eyes.****

APPRENTICE, SNOWPAW

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SWANWING-

White she-cat with a black face and orange back legs and Yellow eyes.****

APPRENTICE, SHEEPPAW

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ROBINBELLY-

Gray tom with an orange belly and yellow muzzle and yellow back legs and Orange eyes.

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DOUBLETOOTH-

Black and white tom with yellow spots on the tail and yellow eyes.

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SPECKLEFOOT-

Greenish she-cat with dark green and brown blotches and green eyes.

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DUCKFROST-

Yellow she-cat with orange legs and muzzle and blue eyes.

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GOOSEFLIGHT-

Brown tom with white chest, white stripe behind each eye, black face and neck, white under belly and dark brown tail and green eyes.

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BEAVERTOOTH-

Brown tom with dark brown tail and green eyes.

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OTTERSTREAM-

Dark brown she-cat with yellow eyes.

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SQUIRRELTAIL-

Light gray tom with white spots all over body and amber eyes.

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MOUSEPELT-

Gray tom with a white underbelly and deep blue eyes.

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FISHEYES-

White she-cat with deep brown eyes.

APPRENTICE, WREATHPAW

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TURTLESTORM-

Greenish she-cat with brown and brown-green (mix) blotches on her back and blue eyes.

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SKYFOOT-

White and gray she-cat with sky-blue eyes.

EVERGREENCLAW- Sweet smelling brown she-cat with creamy blue eyes.

APPRENTICE, MOSSPAW

**VIXENFUR- Orange she-cat with a white belly and black legs.**

**APPRENTICE, NIGHTPAW**

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APPRENTICES:

BUBBLEPAW-

Yellow-eyed she-cat with white belly, gray top and black patterns on face and tail.

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NIGHTPAW-

Black tom with yellow eyes and white splotch on chest.

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MISTYPAW-

White she-cat with black and brown blotches on her back and green eyes.

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BADGERPAW-

Gray tom with white belly, striped face and green eyes.

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RUNNINGPAW-

Brown, white, gray, and black tom with yellow eyes.

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CLOUDPAW-

White she-cat with Blue eyes. Triplets with Snowpaw and Sheeppaw.

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SNOWPAW-

White she-cat with blue eyes. Triplets with Sheeppaw and Cloudpaw.

**SHEEPPAW-**

White she-cat with blue eyes. Triplets with Snowpaw and Cloudpaw.

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LIGHTPAW-

White tom with yellow paws and green eyes.

MOSSPAW- Greenish she-cat with blue eyes.

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QUEENS:

FLOWERTAIL-

Blue she-cat with yellow eyes. Mother of Beartooth's Kits: Ribbonkit - red tom with yellow eyes, Featherkit - blue and green she-cat with green eyes, and Wreathkit - Green she-cat with green eyes.

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ELDERS:

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DAPPLEFUR-

Dark Brown she-cat with orange, black and gray blotches all over (tortoiseshell) with yellow eyes.

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DARKTAIL-

Dark brown tom with green eyes.

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FISHPOOL-

Silver tom with yellow eyes.

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RIVERSTONE-

Silver tom with black paws and green eyes.

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ThunderClan

LEADER: EAGLESTAR- Brown tom with white head and tail and yellow eyes.

DEPUTY: GOLDENHEART- Golden she-cat with blue eyes.

WARRIORS:

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MEDICINE CAT: THUNDERCLOUD-

Stormy gray tom with very dark blue eyes.

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WARRIORS:

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SILVERLEAF-

A magnificent silver tom with black paws and tip of tail, white belly and stunning yellow eyes.****

APPRENTICE, LEMONPAW

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STARTAIL-

Sand colored tom with light green eyes.

APPRENTICE, MONKEYPAW

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STORMHEART-

Dark gray she-cat with white paws and amber eyes.****

APPRENTICE,WARMPAW

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RUBYHEART-

A Beautiful White she-cat with a ruby spot on her chest and sparkling stunning blue eyes

**STORMLIGHT-**Black she-cat with blue eyes and pointed tail.

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APPRENTICE,HOTPAW

BLACKFUR- Black she-cat with yellow eyes.

OPALEYES- White she-cat with blue eyes.

CATEARS- Orange tom with red ears and green eyes.

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APPRENTICE,STEAMPAW

TOPAZLIGHT- Amber colored she-cat with blue eyes

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APPRENTICE,OCEANPAW

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SKYHEART-

White she-cat with blue eyes

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REDFUR-

Red she-cat with amber eyes.

APPRENTICE, FROZENPAW

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BLUETAIL-

Blue-gray she-cat with white paws and black eyes.

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STRAWWHISKER-

Sand-colored tom with blue eyes.

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LITTLEFOOT-

Light brown tom with dark brown paws and dark brown stripe down back and green eyes.****

APPRENTICE,BURNPAW

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ROCKFOOT-

Gray tom with dark gray feet and yellow eyes.

FOXPATH- Red tom with yellow eyes and white belly.

WHITEBELLY- Grey she-cat with a white belly.

DEWBERRY- Red and Orange tom with yellow eyes.

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APPRENTICES:

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LEMONPAW-

Yellow tom with amber eyes.

BROWNPAW- Brown tom with beige paws and face and yellow eyes.

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OCEANPAW-

Blue she-cat with sandy-colored paws and amber eyes.

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WARMPAW-

Orange she-cat with yellow paws and green eyes

**.**

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HOTPAW-

Red tom with orange eyes.

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STEAMPAW-

Gray she-cat with black ears and amber eyes.

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BURNPAW-

Yellow tom with red paws and blue eyes.

FROZENPAW- Ice white she-cat with EXTEREMELY blue eyes

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QUEENS:

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SUNFLIGHT-

Golden she-cat with blue eyes, just like her mother, Goldenheart. Mother of Silverleaf's kits: Heatkit, red tom with orange eyes,Coldkit, icey blue she-cat with blue eyes, Naughtykit, gray tom with dark black stripes and green eyes, and Goodkit, orange tom with blue eyes.

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ICEBERRY-

Blue she-cat with reddish paws and Blue eyes. Kits not yet born; Startail's mate.

MOONFEATHER- silver she-cat with amber eyes. Mother of Catear's kits: Shinekit, silver she-cat with a black tail, Milkkit, creamy white tom with green eyes, Sparklekit, white she-cat with blue dots all over and yellow eyes, and Diamondkit, gray she-cat with white stripes and orange eyes.

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ELDERS:

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BLACKSTONE-

Black tom with white circles around green eyes.

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BUGLEG-

Brown tom with black legs, yellow tail and blue eyes.****

WindClan

LEADER: CRANESTAR-

White she-cat with silver ears, paws and tail and light blue eyes.

APPRENTICE,TROUBLEPAW

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DEPUTY: YELLOWSTONE-

A gray she-cat with yellow stone-like patches and amber eyes (in memory of the trip to yellowstone).****

APPRENTICE,EARTHPAW

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MEDICINE CAT: CHEETAHSPOTS-

Unusual spotted bright yellow she-cat with green eyes.****

APPRENTICE,INKPAW

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WARRIORS:

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FIRESTONE-

Redish tom with amber eyes.****

APPRENTICE, WATERPAW

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RABBITNOSE-

White she-cat with black ears and brown eyes.

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FROZENHEART-

Black tom with creamy muzzle and paws and frozen blue eyes.****

APPRENTICE, DIRTPAW

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LIGHTNINGLEGS-

Very fast tom with white fur and yellow legs and green eyes.

APPRENTICE, CHERRYPAW

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SWEETFEATHER-

White she-cat with light blue on the back side of her body and nice amber eyes.

APPRENTICE, GRASSPAW

TALLTAIL- Black and white she-cat with blue eyes.

APPRENTICE,RAINBOWPAW

BULLPATH- Brown tom with yellow eyes and black paws.

APPRENTICE,PETALPAW

CALFHEART- Light brown tom with gray paws and amber eyes.

APPRENTICE, COYOTEPAW

MOUSENOSE- Orange she-cat with light orange tail and green eyes.

SKYWHISKER- Bluish she-cat with white cloud-like blotches and deep blue eyes.

DRAGONHEART- Tan she-cat with straight brown lines across her back and blue eyes.

BUSHFUR- Greenish she-cat with deep green eyes.

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MOLETOOTH-

Brown tom with white paws, tip of tail and muzzle and blue eyes.

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LILYHEART-

Yellow she-cat with light orange paws and tail, and blue eyes.

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TREETAIL-

Brown she- cat with blue tail and black ears and green eyes.

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BLUEBIRD-

Blue she-cat with orange belly and yellow hind legs and yellow eyes.

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HUMMINGBIRD-

Green tom with red throat and white belly and blue eyes with black hind legs.

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APPRENTICES:

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INKPAW-

White she-cat with messy black blobs on her feet that look like ink and blue eyes. Medicine cat's apprentice.

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COYOTEPAW-

Grey-silver tom with blue eyes.

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TROUBLEPAW-

Brown she-cat with green eyes, white tail, and black ears.

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EARTHPAW-

Green and blue she-cat with yellow eyes

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WATERPAW-

Bluish tom with green eyes.

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DIRTPAW-

Brown tom with green eyes

RAINBOWPAW-

Tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

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QUEENS:

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ELDERS:

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FROGFOOT-

Brown she-cat with yellow feet and green eyes.

GRAYCLAW- Gray tom with white underbelly and yellow eyes.

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ShadowClan

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LEADER: DARKSTAR-

Muscular tom with black fur and yellow eyes.

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DEPUTY: BATWING- Brown tom with black legs and yellow eyes.

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MEDICINE CAT: SANDWIND-

Sandy-colored she-cat with brown specks all over her fur and blue eyes.

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WARRIORS:

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MOONFLIGHT-

White-she-cat with green eyes.****

APPRENTICE, WOODPAW

SNAKETOOTH-

Yellow tom with black tabby stripes and blue eyes.****

APPRENTICE, TREEPAW

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RACOONTAIL-

Gray tom with black ears, black stripes on tail, black "mask" on face and one white stripe above each mask part and silver stripe down white muzzle and yellow eyes.

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BLOODFUR-

A white tom with messy blood-like blob on the lower half of his body and yellow eyes.

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BIRDFLIGHT-

Brown tom with light brown stripes and yellow eyes.

APPRENTICE, WOODPAW

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RATTOOTH-

Gray tom with orange eyes

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SKYCLOUD-

Pure white tom with blue eyes.****

APPRENTICE, ROOTPAW

CANDYFUR- Yellowish she-cat with a bright pink nose.

CORNPELT- Beige tom with bright yellow eyes

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STONESTEP-

Beautiful gray and black she-cat with warming blue eyes. But when she's in battle, her eyes are cold and unforgiving. VERY fierce fighter.

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APPRENTICES:

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LEAFPAW-

Brown she-cat with blue eyes.

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TREEPAW-

Brown she-cat with yellow eyes, twin of Leafpaw.

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WOODPAW-

Brown she-cat with green eyes, triplets with Leafpaw and Treepaw.

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ROOTPAW-

Sandy tom with green eyes.

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QUEENS:

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WOLFPELT-

Silver she-cat with Green eyes and white legs. Mother of Snaketooth's kits: Luckykit (tan tom with brown ears, paws, nose and tail and blue eyes), Demonkit( black tom with orange eyes and white spots on paws and white chin), Horsekit (brown with black paws and green eyes, tom) and Heartkit (redish pinkish she-cat with dark red heart shaped blotches and nice blue eyes).

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ELDERS:

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YELLOWNOSE-

A yellow she-cat with green eyes.

Geh, I think something went terribly wrong when I pasted from word.......sorry for all the random spaces.^^"

Please enjoy the _story_!!!!!! (And I apologize for any spelling mistakes, I didn't read it over very well)


	2. Chapter 1

Bubblekit curled up into a ball at an attempt to keep warm. It was freezing cold in the forest, and a snow blizzard raged all around. She couldn't see two mouse-lengths in front of her own nose.

Suddenly, something picked her up. _Please, oh please, let it not be a fox or badger! _As she was carried away, she realized it was a cat. They brushed through things, probably trees and undergrowth, until they came to a clearing. The strong cat placed her gently onto the ground. "This is your home, little one. You are a RiverClan cat."

Then, two other kits and their mother came to greet her. "And this is your mother."

* * *

Bubblepaw woke to the warm sun shining in through the entrance to the apprentice's den. She stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. Her fellow apprentice, Sheeppaw, woke up as well.

"Good morning, Bubblepaw," she meowed.

"Good morning, Sheeppaw," Bubblepaw replied with a smile. She walked out to see her mentor, Dreamfur, giving orders for the dawn patrol. When he was finished, she ran over to him. "Can we go hunting today, Dreamfur?"

"Sure. We'll ask Vixenfur and Nightpaw if they want to come, too." He replied, acting cool when he said Vixenfur's name.

"If we want to come where?" a voice from behind Dreamfur said. Bubblepaw's nose told her that it was Vixenfur. "If you want to come hunting with Dreamfur and I," Bubblepaw offered, stepping around the frozen deputy.

Vixenfur's ears flicked quickly to Dreamfur, then back to the front. "Sure, we'll come. Nightpaw, go drop off that moss you found at the elder's den; Lightpaw will settle it in." Nightpaw dashed off to the elder's den at his mentor's request, only to come back a moment later.

"Done," he announced. Nightpaw was Bubblepaw's brother. Mistypaw was her sister, Goldenclaw her mother and Lionfoot her father. They were the closest family in RiverClan. What Bubblepaw thought was odd, though, was that she looked nothing like them…

"Bubblepaw! Hurry up, now!" Dreamfur's voice called to her, jerking her out of her thoughts. "Coming!" she called back, racing to catch up with them.

* * *

Roaming the forest, Bubblepaw could smell a mouse. She quickly lowered herself into the hunter's crouch, stalking her prey like a pro. Then she leaped, killing the mouse with a swift paw. She buried it, leaving it to get later. As she walked back to her mentor. He was silent looking in the opposite direction of Vixenfur. Vixenfur was doing the same. When Bubblepaw looked closer, she could see that they were blushing. She rolled her eyes. _What a pathetic attempt at keeping it a secret!_

She made eye contact with Nightpaw, who understood immediately. They both took in a huge breath of air, yelling, "VIXENFUUURRR LOVES DREAMFUURR! DREAMFUURRR LOVES VIXENFUUURRR!" They broke down into laughter as their mentors looked at each other, then to their apprentices, gaping. Their fur was beet red. "Why you little…!" they meowed at the same time. Then they looked at one another again.

"T-training session over! Let's go back to camp!" Dreamfur stammered. Nightpaw and Bubblepaw exchanged playful glances as they walked back to camp.

* * *

"Bubblepaw…Bubblepaw, wake up!" Runningpaw prodded her side.

She rose her head. "Nn?"

Runningpaw beamed at her. "Guess what?" he asked. Not giving time for an answer, he continued. "We were chosen to go to the Gathering!"

This woke her up. "Really?"

"Totally!" he continued to smile. _Awesome! _Bubblepaw thought happily. _My first Gathering! How exciting!_

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This is my second fan fiction. Please read and review, and sorry it took so long to post Chapter One!


	3. Chapter 2

_Warriors: Unkown Origin: Chapter 2_

**I was totally disappointed with how many reviews I got for this story. I KNOW people read it, but they can't bother their lazy butts to review? Even if you're anonymous, review, please! I've made this a short chapter as to not waste my time if no one wants to read this…**

Bubblepaw stared on in horror as Lionfoot and Squirreltail tried to coax Lightpaw to get up. Shakily, he tried, but he didn't succeed. Lionfoot resorted to carrying him to the medicine cat's den.

Lightpaw had come running come into the camp just moments, screaming and bloodied, before he collapsed. The camp had just been setting up patrols for the day, but those jobs had clearly been postponed.

He had said something about an eagle before he collapsed. _An eagle…? I heard they carried away cats to eat them!_ Many kits were scared with stories of eagles, but their danger was totally real. Bubblepaw lifted her nose to try and get a scent in. There _was _a strange smell…but it was mixed with blood. _Cat _blood.

"Oh no!" Bubblepaw shot straight out of the camp, following the scent.

"Where are you going, Bubblepaw! Get back here!" she heard Goldenclaw call after her. She didn't listen. Finally, she reached a clearing. Something was soaring away, and it was huge. _Eagle._ Bubblepaw watched, amazed at how big the thing actually was. Then the cat scent caught her again, and she searched around until she spotted a motionless lump of fur on the ground. Nervously, she stalked quietly up to it. She prodded the body. It didn't move.

She tried to scent which cat it was, but the blood and eagle stench was too strong. She pushed the furball over to reveal the dead RiverClan cat. It was Gooseflight. The warrior was known for catching geese around their forest, whenever he spotted any. Once, he had saved the Clan from starvation by catching a goose. His name just happened to go along with his skills.

Sorrow overwhelmed Bubblepaw as she grieved. She let out a _mrrow _of sadness. But then, the same strange scent as before came to her nose. She looked up, only to see the eagle swooping down. It had come back for more cat prey.

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**There, did you like that? Will you finally review? I'm sorry if I come across as mean, but I like to get reviews!**


	4. Chapter 3

Bubblepaw was frozen in shock and terror when she saw he eagle coming back for her. She couldn't smell any other cats around, or Gooseflight's mess was covering it up.

The huge bird opened its mouth, but a flash zoomed by, and the eagle was on the ground.

A grey paw ripped the eagle's throat swiftly. Bubblepaw gasped; the new cat scented of WindClan. The cat turned around; it was a handsome tom, an apprentice.

"Are you all right?" he asked, padding over to her. "I'm Coyotepaw."

Bubblepaw nodded. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you so much for saving me… I'm Bubblepaw."

Coyotepaw smiled. "That's good. It would a shame to lose such a pretty she-cat." He looked thoughtful for a moment, while Bubblepaw licked her chest fur, embarrassed. "Say, will you be at the Gathering?" Bubblepaw nodded, surprised by the sudden question. "Great, I'll be there too! We can talk some more there, if you want."

"That would be nice, Coyotepaw." Bubblepaw felt that her and Coyotepaw would be able to be great friends, even he was in WindClan. "Oh! That's right, you have to get back to your side of the border!"

"Psssh, please. I wander all the time. You may have heard of me." He winked, but took her advice and shot away.

"Thank you!" Bubblepaw called after her savior, then turned to run back to camp.

She wasn't even out of the clearing before she slammed into a hard body. "Bubblepaw! Thank StarClan you're okay!" Lionfoot noticed the eagle, then his face saddened when he saw Gooseflight. "…Mousepelt, help me carry him back to camp. We have to notify Sapphirestar right away- Bubblepaw, go, now."

"Yes, father." Bubblepaw ran off instantly, not wanting to be asked who saved her. She didn't want Coyotepaw to get in trouble.

When she reached camp, Goldenclaw came barreling over, closely followed by Mistypaw and Nightpaw. "Oh, StarClan! You're not hurt, are you!"

Bubblepaw shook her head. "No, Goldenclaw, I'm fine." She looked away. "I just wish I could say the same to Gooseflight…"

"No!" Fisheyes wailed. "Not my only brother!" A group of cats crowded around Fisheyes as she went into a state of shock at Gooseflight's body, which Lionfoot and Mousepelt had just brought in. Sapphirestar had emerged from her den, sorrow flooding her eyes.

Fisheyes rushed over to Honeyclaw, the medicine cat. "He's alive, right! He's not dead?" Honeyclaw didn't respond, she just sat there and looked at the fallen warrior's body. Fisheyes fell. "NOOOO!" she yowled. "StarClan, why!"

Everyone knew that Fisheyes and Gooseflight were brother and sister, but they had come from being sophisticated rogues; when she saw their skills, Sapphirestar immediately offered them a part in the Clan. They were always together, and were all they had. Bubblepaw had a feeling she would be mourning in the medicine cats' den for moons.

* * *

The burial was over, and Bubblepaw was finished sharing tongues with Gooseflight. She padded over to Lightpaw, who was scratched and battered. He looked guilty.

"Don't hold yourself responsible for Gooseflight's death, Lightpaw. It was a good thing that you came and warned us."

He looked over at her. "But…I'm so weak, and cowardly… if I'd been like you, I would've stayed there and killed the eagle."

"Oh, no, I didn't kill the eagle-!" Bubblepaw was surprised to find that everyone in the Clan _did _think she killed the eagle; its blood covered the WindClan scent.

"But Lionfoot, it wasn't me!" Bubblepaw pleaded the next day.

"Then who was it?" he demanded.

Bubblepaw bit her tongue. _I'm so stupid…_ "I-I didn't see who it was…"

Lionfoot growled. "It was that _stupid _phantom cat, wasn't it! The one that appears in every Clan and does random stuff, except for stealing prey, and seduces all of the she-cats! If he did that to my daughter, I'll…" he trailed off, grumbling.

Bubblepaw gaped. "Excuse-?" She'd heard of the phantom cat, but… then it hit her. _"Psssh, please. I wander all the time. You may have heard of me." _Coyotepaw was really handsome and strong and… the phantom cat was _Coyotepaw! _

Bubblepaw twitched. _yeah, I'll see you at the Gathering…and you better have an explanation! Speaking of Gathering, that's only two days away!_

Her anger and sorrow was soon filled with a bit of excitement.

"Bubblepaw, come hunting with me!" Dreamfur snapped her out of her thoughts, and she bounded after him.

"Say…what have you hear of the phantom cat?" she asked, prodding the subject after a few catches.

Dreamfur growled. "That he does whatever he can to hide his scent and chase after the she-cats in _every Clan!_" Bubblepaw could tell he was thinking of how he would hang the 'phantom' because of Vixenfur.

_But he doesn't seem all that bad…ahh, well, Coyotepaw pulled this on himself…_

"The thing is, he's been around for _forever! _He says he's looking for the reincarnation of his master, or something…. fox-dung to that. He should only be loyal to his Clan leader, if he has one…" Dreamfur was soon lost in his thoughts, and Bubblepaw went back to collect the prey they'd caught.

_I'll _definitely _be seeing him at the Gathering…_


	5. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

**_I changed up some names in the Allegiances to reader requests!_**

Bubblepaw was sharing a piece of fresh-kill with Runningpaw. They didn't want to eat much because they were so excited, though they should have been eating a lot for energy.

"Oooh, I'm so excited… gah, I can't eat anymore. I'll eat later, okay?" Bubblepaw sat up and walked away from Runningpaw, who still nibbled at the vole.

She spotted Vixenfur and Dreamfur resting under the shade of a tree. They spoke, but their jaws barely moved. Dreamfur shifted closer, and licked Vixenfur's face.

She approached them. "Er…hello." she meowed, dipping her head in greeting and feeling awkward.

They shot apart. "Oh, uh, hello, Bubblepaw…we were just-," Dreamfur stuttered.

"Yeah, yeah, lovers' chat. You don't have to explain." Bubblepaw _mrrowed _in amusement.

Vixenfur rolled her eyes. "You mouse-brain, Dreamfur…" she muttered. "So, what's new, Bubblepaw?"

Bubblepaw's eyes shone. "Well, I'm just so excited that I actually get to go to the Gathering… I couldn't even eat! It's just like when I was going to be named an apprentice!"

Vixenfur stood and rasped her tongue over Bubblepaw's shoulder. "You really should go eat something, then we'll all go on patrol and renew the border. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Bubblepaw ran off, but disobeyed Vixenfur's order to eat. She went straight off to Nightpaw. "Heya, we're all going for a border patrol now."

He looked up from his discussion with Badgerpaw. "Kay," he said, turning to Badgerpaw. "Well, I'll see you later."

They ran over to the entrance of the camp, meeting up with their mentors there.

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone's been here…" Nightpaw concluded, looking around once more as their session ended.

Dreamfur's fur suddenly bristled. "I smell… something. Something strange."

Bubblepaw caught the scent, too, and began to feel anxious. It was Coyotepaw's. _Why are you here? Go back to WindClan! Please! _She wanted to cry out to him, but she knew that was a bad idea. "Ummm… I'm going to go mark the border again, I'll be right back!" she thought fast and shot off before some cat could tell her otherwise. She followed the 'phantom cat's' scent until she ran into him. Despite her anger at his stupidity, she was happy to see him again. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I…," Coyotepaw looked away, embarrassed.

"Well, what? The Gathering's gunna be soon!"

"I know, I…" he looked up sheepishly at Bubblepaw. "I couldn't wait that long to see you again."

Bubblepaw's cheeks grew hot. "Oh, well… I…." They looked at each other for a while. Finally, she accepted it. "Thank you, Coyotepaw."

"I… I feel…" he was looking away again now. The scent of WindClan was on him again- his rush to see Bubblepaw had left him with not enough of the clear scent on him.

Dreamfur growled from behind Bubblepaw. She whipped around, gasping. Coyotepaw put on his most innocent face, but his eyes looked troubled.

"Who are you, why are you here?" he snarled, signaling with his tail that Bubblepaw should go behind him.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm a friend of Bubblepaw's…" he trailed off.

"So?" Vixenfur said coolly. "That doesn't mean you can cross over here just to see her." He looked at her pleadingly. Vixenfur kept her cool composure. "Besides, you're from different Clans-mating would be forbidden."

Bubblepaw felt her whole body go red, and she was going to protest, but Coyotepaw got there first. "Yes, ma'am…sorry." Bubblepaw heard the bushes part and then he was gone.

Vixenfur turned to Bubblepaw. "I'm not going to tell Sapphirestar about this, but if it happens again…"

"I'm sorry… and it's not like that, we're just…" Bubblepaw trailed off.

Nightpaw broke the awkwardness with a laugh. "That's our Bubblepaw, always on the dangerous side! Cut her some slack, Vixenfur, some of the free toms in RiverClan are total dopes!"

Vixenfur cracked a smile. "That's true…" she glanced at Dreamfur.

"Wha-hey!" he retorted to her un-meowed comment.

As they laughed on the trip home, Bubblepaw gave a meaningful 'thank you' look to Nightpaw, who winked at her. "Always got your back, sis," he whispered, his eyes glimmering.

* * *

"Okay, its time for the Gathering!" Dreamfur called to the Clan. Bubblepaw almost choked on her fresh kill, then spat it out and ran over to the line.

"Letsgoletsgoletsgoletsgo!" she urged, bouncing. "Lets, like, beat the crap out of a fox or something on the way!"

"Man, you wouldn't notice a fox if it ate you, now calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen, don't get your sadistic hopes up," Dreamfur teased.

When the cats that were going assembled, Sapphirestar lead her Clan out of the camp, following the worn down trail that lead to the Gathering spot.

* * *

They broke through the bracken, Bubblepaw getting slightly scratched, but the moonlight filtering beautifully through the trees washed the pain away. It was amazing. All the cats looked up at them-by the looks of it, ShadowClan wasn't there yet.

Bubblepaw slid down the hill and ran to the cluster of chatting cats. A body bowled her over; Coyotepaw's eyes shone as he met up with her again.

"Coyotepaw!" Bubblepaw licked his shoulder.

Runningpaw came up behind them. "Hello." He said coldly to Runningpaw. Rumours went around that Runningpaw liked Bubblepaw a lot, so naturally he wouldn't like Coyotepaw very much.

Coyotepaw noticed this and decided it would be fun to annoy him. Bubblepaw was still pinned under him, and he leaned in closer to rasp his tongue fondly over her ear. "It's nice to see you _again,_" he purred, his eyes darting from Runningpaw to Bubblepaw. Runningpaw stiffened.

Vixenfur's voice purred over the three apprentices. "You kids enjoying yourselves?"

"Very," Coyotepaw replied, winking. Vixenfur laughed.

"Bubblepaw, I don't think you've met my good friend Dragonheart? She's in WindClan, just like your friend there."

Dragonheart stepped forward, her eyes shining. "Hiya! Now, now, Coyotepaw, always the play-cat." She purred. "That Bubblepaw's a keeper… ohh, yes…" she muttered. Vixenfur stepped on her paw, and they had a silent argument.

"What's _that _about?" Bubblepaw asked.

"Who cares? So what's new?" Coyotepaw quipped.

The two chatted happily for a while, until ShadowClan finally appeared. The Clan ran down into the clearing, and the leader leapt instantly up to the leaders.

"I'm very sorry to be late, one of the warriors had a spasm, and we were forced to turn back and drop her off to the medicine cats' den- I like to see them off personally- and we got another warrior. Again, my apologies. May I start?" he asked the other Clan leaders after the apology.

The rest of them nodded.

"That's Darkstar-he's the best thing that ever happened to ShadowClan," Dragonheart told the apprentices.

"The phantom cat struck again, my friends… Treepaw was seduced by him." He sighed, thinking about the dumb apprentice at ShadowClan. "We have some new warriors-Candypaw and Cornpaw are now Candyfur and Cornpelt. Other than that, everything's fine."

The Gathering rolled through quickly. Sapphirestar passed on the sad news of Gooseflight's death, and warned the Clans about the eagle. Eaglestar was cut off by sudden thunder. "StarClan is…unhappy?" The ThunderClan leader was confused.

Then lightning struck, straight at Bubblepaw. She was frozen in fear and shock, so Coyotepaw jumped and dragged her, in a flash, to safety. His eyes held nothing but concern. "Are you all right?"

Bubblepaw nodded, speechless.

"Wha… StarClan is trying to tell us something about this apprentice from River…" he trailed off, looking troubled. He turned to Sapphirestar. "Is that the one? The apprentice from all those moons ago?"

"Hush, Eaglestar, not many know of that…" She replied, looking troubled herself.

"Answer the question."

Sapphirestar hesitated. "…Yes."

Eaglestar's claws scraped the rock under his paws. "That… that unknown cat, StarClan is mad because she is in its presence once again! A blessing you called her, but now look what's happened!" the leader fumed.

"Now, Eaglestar, stop your whining!" Sapphirestar meowed.

"Whining? You call it whining, my concern for the forest all because of an apprentice with an unknown origin? No scent, no familiarities, nothing! No, Sapphirestar, I call that deathtrap _blasphemy!_"

"Silence!" Cranestar bellowed. She was the oldest and wisest of the leaders. She snapped to Eaglestar. "We promised never to speak of it again, and you rise the problem at a _Gathering?_ And I don't believe you would call the poor apprentice blasphemy, when she's thinks she knows of herself!"

Sapphirestar was hissing, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.

Bubblepaw was scared and confused. "Are you talking about… me?"

Eaglestar whipped around to her, ignoring Cranestar's criticism. "What do you know of yourself, girl, of your family?"

"Th…that it consists of Lionfoot, Goldenclaw, Nightpaw and Mistypaw of RiverClan, sir," she managed to scrape her voice together.

"_WRONG, _you foolish apprentice!"

"Take that back!" Lionfoot howled, hate in his eyes.

"Then…who is my family?" Bubblepaw asked the question on everyone's mind.

"No one knows." Sapphirestar told her sadly, looking her square in the eye. Bubblepaw was so overwhelmed with everything that was happening… family? Phantom cat? StarClan? Unkown origin?

She fainted, Sapphirestar's sad face fading away.

Strangely, the blackness held her tom likeness, staring proudly at her.

* * *

**What...? She's not part of RiverClan after all? And who is this mysterious tom in her dreams? Review to find out!**


	6. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

**Heya, sorry for the wait! School, people, other fan fics to deal with...but you don't care about that, let's get on with the story!**

Coyotepaw watched on in concern as cats from RiverClan crowded around the fainted apprentice. He padded up and shouldered his way through the cluster until he got to her.

He prodded her with his paw. "Hey, Bubblepaw…Bubblepaw…_Bubblepaw!_" he hissed into her ear but she still didn't budge. She trembled slightly, and she mewed almost inaudibly.

He watched on sadly. _A nightmare…? _He asked her silently. _Or does the truth just hurt? _He stroked her cheek with his paw, and she mewed again. Suddenly, a paw batted at his face.

He back-stepped easily and gracefully, swishing his tail at the right time as to not lose his balance. He had all the right moves because of his 'phantom-cat' status.

Anyway, he landed on all fours, fur bristled and hissing furiously. "Watch where you're going, mouse-brain!"

Dreamfur sneered at him. "Oh, that wasn't an accident. I _thought _I told you to stay away from her!" he spat, his neck fur bristling.

"It's a Gathering, for StarClan's sake! We have a truce, and I'm allowed to be friends with her!" Coyotepaw defended himself defiantly.

Dreamfur's meow was a low growl. "You and I both know you have more than friendship on your mind." Coyotepaw felt the blood pool at his cheeks. "And _that _goes against StarClan's wishes, too, so we're even. Now leave." Dreamfur dismissed him with a flick of his tail and turned, ending the conversation.

Coyotepaw's lip drawn back in a snarl, he looked at Bubblepaw one last time before returning to his own Clan.

Dragonheart was waiting for him. "That's sad, isn't it? She finds out now, at her very first Gathering."

Coyotepaw passed her, his meow bitter. "Yeah."

Dragonheart was irritated with the young apprentice, but didn't press the issue.

Coyotepaw looked over his shoulder once as Lionfoot and Dreamfur supported Bubblepaw on the way back to their camp. He swished his head back soon after.

_Dreamfur must really not like me…I guess Bubblepaw's like a little sister to him…_Coyotepaw sighed. _But he's right. It would be against StarClan's rule to…_his ear flicked at the thought.

_But…my real duty as the phantom cat…is to serve my new master. There hasn't been one found since _Riverstar's _family line was running. But, I was told it would be a she-cat, and maybe Bubblepaw is…! I mean, she fits the description…_

Coyotepaw decided he would go to Cheetahspots and Inkpaw-only those cats close to him knew his secret, and that included the two medicine cats- about this. _Maybe they could ask StarClan for advice…gah, I'm so confused!_

* * *

Bubblepaw's eyes fluttered open. What she saw was blurred at first, but soon came into focus.

Lionfoot, Goldenclaw, Nightpaw and Mistypaw, along with Honeyclaw, huddled around her. Goldenclaw's eyes brightened when she saw that the apprentice was awake, and began licking her vigorously.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, Bubblepaw!" she cried.

Lionfoot swiped his tail over her ear, chuckling in his low voice. "You're quite the trooper. I'm proud of you, Bubblepaw." Nightpaw and Mistypaw beamed at her.

Despite their love, Bubblepaw turned over to where she couldn't see them. She didn't want to. They had _pretended _to be her family all those years. But they weren't, really. No cat knew.

Her so-called _family _mewed to her to not be mad. Not to blame her 'siblings' because they didn't even know. But it didn't matter to her.

No matter what they said, they had still _lied _to her for her entire life.

Bubblepaw didn't speak after that. A moon went by and still she crashed in the medicine cats' den, ignoring even the medicine cat herself.

At the beginning, all of her friends kept visiting her, but when she paid no attention to them and they looked into her lifeless eyes, they decided to leave her alone.

But everyday, no matter what, her foster family visited with her. They shared tongues with her, even though she never responded.

She was asleep while she was awake. All she had ever dreamed of and hoped for, loved and lived for, was shattered. Gone. She was unsure of whether or not she was in RiverClan. Or even forest-born. She could have been some kittypet, or a loner. Or she could have been born forests and forests away, not even under the skies of StarClan.

She stared blankly at the wall all day, all night.

In that moon, the rest of the Clan learned to forget and ignore her.

But not her family.

* * *

Coyotepaw looked over the RiverClan border sadly. He had heard that Bubblepaw had never spoken a word since that night, a moon ago at her first Gathering. He had heard nothing of her lately, though-they must have taught themselves to move on and forget the poor loss.

Coyotepaw thought of her everyday. How desperately he wanted to leap over the border and be her hero…but he knew he couldn't. All he could do was sit and watch.

As he sat daydreaming one day, Firestone approached him. He flicked his ears in greeting.

Coyotepaw nodded to him as he sat down beside him. He hesitated before speaking. "So…still thinking about her, eh?"

Coyotepaw's face fell as he nodded. "…Yes." He forced himself to stop.

Firestone noticed this. "Let it go, Coyotepaw. You can tell me, I'll listen."

Coyotepaw clenched his teeth before taking in a big breath. "Bubblepaw doesn't have a real family but she thought she did! She doesn't know where she came from or how she got to RiverClan, or even the forest! But _I _understand her! Better than any other cat, I understand her! Because I don't have a real family, either! It's really rough, not knowing your heritage! And even rougher when you have a duty to fulfill and cats to make happy all the time, when you aren't yourself!" he shouted. His lip trembled and his vision was blurred, his teeth still pressed together.

Firestone licked his friend. He was among the few who knew his phantom secret, and acted as a big brother to him, as did some other toms in the Clan.

"I tried to go see her, but they wouldn't let me." Coyotepaw choked.

"It's okay," Firestone soothed. Coyotepaw buried himself in Firestone's fur, enjoying the warmth this strong warrior gave him.

"Just follow your heart, and you'll be fine." Firestone comforted his makeshift sibling further. "I know it's hard to live life with the image of your parents being murdered always glued to the wall in your head, but… if you find someone that can erase that image, or at least store it away, and ease your pain, go for it. Especially if you can do the same for them."

Coyotepaw stood, smiled at Firestone and then twitched his ears in goodbye as he headed back to the apprentice den. "…Thank you."

Firestone watched as Coyotepaw disappeared behind the bushes. He chuckled in a bittersweet way. "What a kid…"

* * *

**Okay, so if you liked it and want more, please review for another chapter. Next chapter, we will delve into Coyotepaw's terrible past...**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Heya! Wow, this chapter is rather violent...Here's Coyotepaw's gorey past!**

_Coyotepaw listened intently to what his father, Barkfang, told him. The day before this was when Coyotepaw was named an apprentice. "We search for our next master-the next one is supposed to be a she-cat. She could be from any of the four Clans; she has certain features and such…the last few were in fact from RiverClan, but we are here in WindClan today because of…a long story."_

_Coyotepaw frowned at his father. _

"_Will you do it?" Barkfang asked. _

"_Well…so you basically just stalk she-cats?" Coyotepaw asked his father dully. _

_Barkfang was dumbstruck. "Er, well…kind of, b-but…it's for a mission!"_

_Coyotepaw shook his head. "I just want to be a normal apprentice, Barkfang. I don't think I want to do this."_

_His father gave him a bittersweet smile. "Well…alright. But…if you change your mind, come talk to me or Cheetahspots."_

_Coyotepaw stood and stretched. "Sure, dad, but I don't think that'll happen."_

_Barkfang chuckled and rasped his tongue over his son's ear. They looked exactly alike;that ran in the Phantom Cat family. So no one would know it changed. When they ran, they were dashing gray-silver blurs._

_Calfheart called for Coyotepaw. "C'mon, lets go! We need to go hunting!" Coyotepaw flicked his tail to signal he had heard, and then rasped his ear over his father's._

"_Bye, Barkfang!" he called as he ran away. Barkfang smiled back. Coyotepaw flicked his ears to his beautiful and loving mother, Flowerpelt, and she threw him a dazzling smile. He caught up with his brothers, Mudpaw and Clawpaw and their mentors, Firestone and Petalheart along with his own mentor. Petalheart and Clawpaw fell behind. _

"_Out for a little chat, I presume?" Mudpaw teased playfully, loud enough so their brother could hear. _

"_A lovers' chat, yes," Coyotepaw joked, winking at Mudpaw, who glared back at them. Petalheart giggled softly and licked Mudpaw's ear, murmuring something Coyotepaw couldn't hear. _

_Clawpaw and Coyotepaw loved making fun of Mudpaw and Petalheart; it was so obvious he was infatuated with his mentor. _

_Firestone came over and whacked them on the head with his paw. "Let the poor kid be, and focus on hunting."_

"_Well then he should focus on hunting, too, instead of his girlfriend," Clawpaw mumbled. Coyotepaw laughed; he loved hanging out with his brothers. _

"_So, what'd you say to dad about the whole Phantom Cat thing?" Clawpaw came out of the shadows suddenly a few moments later with a vole in his jaws; he lowered his voice on the topic. _

_Coyotepaw shook his head. "I said no, the she-cats will all think I'm some kinda stalker,"_

_Clawpaw laughed; him and Mudpaw took after Flowerpelt, and were not in line for the role of Phantom Cat, though of course they knew about it._

_Coyotepaw sniffed, and crouched down. "I smell rabbit," he mouthed to his brother, who nodded._

_He heard it pass by and took an amazing leap at it, biting down in it's neck. _

_He looked at it; it was HUGE!_

"_Wow, Coyotepaw, good catch!" Mudpaw bounded over at the mouth-watering scent of the huge rabbit._

"_We'll share it when we get back to camp!" Coyotepaw offered, smiling. His brothers beamed back at him._

_The hunting patrol headed back to the WindClan camp, chatting. Suddenly, Coyotepaw remembered his rabbit. _

"_I'll be back in a minute, I forgot the bunny!" he told Clawpaw, who nodded and kept going. _

_He found the place where he had buried it, and dug it up. He tore it from the earth; his father would be so proud! This would totally make up for the disappointment he had caused earlier when he declined Barkfang's offer to become the next Phantom Cat._

_He ran back to camp, and slipped through the entrance. "Look, Barkfang, I-!" Coyotepaw stopped dead in his tracks, dropping the fresh-kill._

_Flowerpelt lay dead, slain on the ground, blood flowing everywhere. A brown, white and black, playful looking she-cat had cornered Clawpaw. A border of other mean-looking cats stopped the rest of the Clan from helping them; they were now caught up with their own battles._

"_Chipmunkstripe, hurry it up!" an ugly black tom told the playful she-cat. _

_She giggled, and leapt for his brother. Coyotepaw was too far away to help, but Mudpaw jumped in with a yowl, pinning Chipmunkstripe to the ground with a furious thud. _

_The big ugly tom sighed and jumped over to help his sadistic friend, but Petalheart cried, "NO!" and dashed over to him just in time; his killing blow went to her instead of Mudpaw. _

_Mudpaw, disconcerted with grief, loosened his grip. "PETALHEART!" he screamed. Chipmunkstrie took her chance, and ripped the apprentices' throat. She was spattered with blood, and began to giggle maniacally. The ugly tom rolled his eyes. _

"_No!" Coyotepaw choked; he looked over at Clawpaw with moisture in his eyes. _

_Clawpaw was putting up a fight, trying to battle three other cats at once, which was completely unfair. He bit at his enemies anywhere he could. Coyotepaw dashed over to help, and raked his claws across one of the cats' ears; he growled back at the apprentice, and leapt on him, pinning him to the ground. _

_Another body rammed into the huge tom on top of him-Whitestripe, an elderly warrior. They fought fiercely, and Coyotepaw crept away to help his remaining brother._

_Only to find he was already with StarClan. _

"_NO!" he shrieked like a kit._

"_ENOUGH!" his father's strong voice bellowed from across the battlefield, and everyone stopped battling, except Whitestripe's opponent, who cheated and took the moment to slay the warrior. _

_A cool, sleek body came out of the shadows. "What do you want, old man?" she asked, evil glimmering in her eyes. _

_Barkfang growled like Coyotepaw had never heard. "For you to stop this pointless fighting."_

_The cat let out a sick chuckle. "I'm sorry, but Vixenpelt doesn't take orders from petty Clan cats."_

"_You were one yourself, you dishonourable rogue," Barkfang snarled._

_Vixenpelt growled and leapt for the warrior. She bit at his neck fur, but he flipped her over and tore her flank with his claws. She yowled in pain, but recovered quickly, raking her hind claws across Barkfang's belly, then shifting her weight just enough that Barkfang lost his balance. She snapped once again at his neck, but he batted away her muzzle and attempted to get away. Vixenpelt, however, had predicted this and landed on top of him, stabbing her claws into his neck._

_Coyotepaw never forgot this whole scene of events, especially when he saw Barkfang's eyes look over to him, and watched the light leave them. _

_They were all dead. _

* * *

_He couldn't remember what happened after that. _

_All he remembered was going to Cheetahspots to tell her he was going to take the position of the Phantom Cat. _

_The scene replayed, over and over and over, again._

* * *

Coyotepaw let out a shrill, ear-splitting, blood-curdling scream from his dream.

"Coyotepaw! Are you okay!" Inkpaw's anxious voice was in his ear, along with the breathing of all the other apprentices. His eyes flicked open, his panting echoing around the room. He staggered to his paws, disconcerted from the replay of the worst time of his life.

"Yeah…dream…again…" he mumbled, sorrow stabbing his voice.

Firestone shouldered his way through the crowd, then grabbed him out into the sunlight.

"Breathe, man, breathe!" he said, swiping his tail over Coyotepaw's face.

Coyotepaw shook his head, coming back to his senses. "Oh…yeah! S-sorry…I guess Bubblepaw's grief is bringing back my own…" he looked away.

Firestone's eyes narrowed. "You like her that much, eh?"

The apprentice looked into the warrior's eyes. Coyotepaw nodded so slightly it looked like his head was still.

"I won't tell," Firestone whispered in his ear.

"Thanks," Coyotepaw sighed.

"On one condition," he finished, smirking. Coyotepaw blinked, confused. "You go and get her, be her warrior-in-shining-fur(lol)," he winked.

Coyotepaw stared incredulously, knowing this was stupid. "But…then everyone'll know anyway."

"So? They'll know either way. Choice two is better, in my opinion. Go get her out of that funk!"

The possibilities flooded Coyotepaw's mind. Suddenly, Clan differences didn't matter.

He was going to save Bubblepaw.

"I'm sorry, I'll be back, whether you like it or not!" he called to WindClan. Cranestar was there too.

"And where are you going?" she asked, her ear twitching.

"To save my friend!"

He shot off, out of camp, across the RiverClan border.

He passed a patrol easily, and stood at the entrance of RiverClan camp.

A snarling face met his; Dreamfur.

"_What are you doing here?"_ he asked, his voice dripping with acid.

"Bubblepaw," he responded confidently.

* * *

**Didja like it? Review please, if you want to find out what happens! And if you add this to favourites and/or alerts, PLEASE REVIEW WITH IT!**


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**_~A Note From Bubblewing-luvs-anime~_**

**Hello to everyone! Thank you to all that have reviewed this story kindly! I'm sorry if this screwed you up, but I really have to say this, and say this now: **

**PLEASE STOP HARASSING THE NAMES.**

**Hakepaw, I'll accept yours because you actually went on and read the story, liking it for itself. But the other two, that's just mean! I mean, really! Can't you people have a little imagination!? Sure, I understand when the animals are a little far-fetched, but seriously!**

**I feel bad when you ridicule the names, because I'm not the only one who made them up! Some of my younger friends helped me, and they've been reading Warriors for longer than I have!! (You see two of them in the reviews page) **

**So I ask again, if you don't like the names, mention it in a small way in a review for the chapter, or be like Hakepaw and get over it. Please.**

**Thanks. I'll update soon, don't worry! Probably around a week or two, the REAL Chapter 9 will be here!**

**Thank you, bye!**


	9. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

**Well, here ya go! Happy New Year, and enjoy!**

"Eh?" Dreamfur asked, dumbfounded.

"I've come for Bubblepaw. Now out of my way!" Coyotepaw meowed again.

Dreamfur recovered his composure. "I don't think so," his voice came in a low growl.

Coyotepaw unsheathed his claws. "_Move, or I'll make you,_" he hissed, baring his sharp fangs.

Dreamfur's lips drew back in a snarl, saying nothing. Coyotepaw hissed again, and dug his claws into the earth. He didn't take his eyes off of Dreamfur, but took in his surroundings the best he could.

Suddenly, he leapt for Dreamfur, but at the last minute, pushed off from the ground to the side, past Dreamfur and into the camp. He heard a hiss of distress from Dreamfur, but kept going, to what he recognized as the apprentices' den.

"Where's Bubblepaw?" he asked one of the young cats urgently, his eyes sweeping the den.

The white she-cat was taken aback by the apprentices' suddenly barging in. "Uhm… I-in the medicine cat's den…"

Coyotepaw was gone in a flash, gliding through the camp at top speed. Some cats gasped, and one even whispered, "The Phantom Cat…?" Coyotepaw ignored them.

He was suddenly faced with another white she-cat, looking determined. "What are you doing? Go back to where you came from."

"Please let me through," Coyotepaw meowed through clenched teeth. The apprentice hissed. "It's about Bubblepaw."

The she-cat's gaze didn't soften; then it hit him. _She-cat! I can do this…_Coyotepaw softened his own gaze and looked pleadingly at the apprentice. His lip turned into a charming smile, and the cat in front of him was suddenly staring, wide-eyed, at the tom's beauty. He stepped forward and murmured, "Please?"

The apprentice stayed put, but when Coyotepaw slipped by, she didn't move.

The wonderful scent flooded his nose, and then he saw her. Her back was turned, her gray fur rising and falling with her breaths.

He pawed lightly over to her. "Bubblepaw?" he whispered into her ear; it twitched, and she turned her head at the familiar voice. Her eyes lit up when she saw her friend.

She attempted to speak for the first time in a moon. Her meow was cracked. "Coyotepaw…?"

Coyotepaw smiled, and rasped his tongue over her ear. "I've missed you, Bubblepaw," he murmured. She purred.

"I've missed you, too," she mewed, burying her face in his soft, sweet fur.

"Well I'll be," a female voice caught Coyotepaw's attention, and Bubblepaw tensed.

"Honeyclaw," she whispered.

While he braced himself for battle, Honeyclaw walked forward, showing no sign of hostility. Goldenclaw, Lionfoot, Nightpaw and Mistypaw quickly followed her.

Bubblepaw's gaze was icy to her foster family, and she twined her tail with Coyotepaw's just to show he was a true friend.

As Honeyclaw kept moving towards her friend, she blurted out, "Please don't hurt him or anything, I know he's trespassing, but-!"

Goldenclaw and the others watched in astonishment and happiness as their adopted child spoke again. Her voice was gravelly from lack of use, but it got smoother with every word. Tears came to Goldenclaw's eyes and her tail intertwined with Lionfoot's.

"We won't hurt him, Bubblepaw," Honeyclaw assured her, never taking her eyes off Coyotepaw. "He brought you back to us, in a way, after all."

"Bubblepaw!" Goldenclaw launched herself at the apprentice.

Bubblepaw drew her lips back into a snarl, and sidestepped her foster mother.

"Bubblepaw...?" Goldenclaw whimpered. Bubblepaw stared at her frostily.

"Bubblepaw, are you gunna come back to apprentice training?" Nightpaw asked, his head cocked and his eyes clouded with confusion.

"Please?" Mistypaw added, her lip trembling.

Bubblepaw looked away, then looked back, her face unreadable. "Yes," she mewed after a moment.

Just then, Dreamfur burst through the entrance, looking distressed. "_You! _Get _out!_" he hissed, scraping up the soil with his claws.

Coyotepaw _mrrow_ed in amused, and pressed his face against Bubblepaw's flank.

"It's okay, Dreamfur…" Bubblepaw soothed, coughing. Her newfound voice scratched her throat.

His eyes widened. "Bubblepaw…! You've come back!" he bounded happily over to her, purring, his anger towards Coyotepaw forgotten momentarily. She quickly rasped her tongue over his ear.

Then he went back to glaring coldly at the WindClan apprentice.

"Well…that's all there is to it, I guess," Bubblepaw meowed after a moment of awkward silence. "I'll come back to apprentice training today."

Nightpaw and Mistypaw squealed like kits in happiness, though Bubblepaw didn't look at them. Lionfoot was staring oddly at Coyotepaw, but not with hate like Dreamfur, while Goldenclaw's eyes held pain that her orphaned child rejected her yet again.

* * *

Coyotepaw and Bubblepaw were sharing tongues under a shady tree.

"Are you sure you're okay if I go?" Coyotepaw meowed, uncertain if he should leave yet or not.

Bubblepaw nodded her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Some of the cats camp will still be my friends, I hope, if I'll accept them," she meowed as she twined her tail with her friend's. She heard a deep growl from a few fox-lengths away, and saw a passing Dreamfur watching them. Bubblepaw _mrrow_ed in amusement and told Coyotepaw, "And I think it's best if you go now, before Dreamfur can't control himself and attacks!"

Coyotepaw chuckled lightly, and stood, followed by Bubblepaw. They padded over to the camp entrance together.

"Well… goodbye," Bubblepaw mewed, embarrassed now for some reason. "And…thank you. Really, thank you very much."

Coyotepaw threw his melting smile at Bubblepaw, and pressed his face into her flank, purring. "I'll come to you whenever you need me," he murmured, almost accidentally. Bubblepaw's face heated up as she flicked her tail over his ear. He looked at Bubblepaw with intense care, and gave her one last lick in farewell.

He was about to step out of camp when Bubblepaw called him back.

"Wait! Umm… well…" she lowered her voice. "Will you come see me sometimes, and we can play?" she asked, her tail flicking in excitement. "Leaf-bare is coming, so this is a great time for the leaf-chasing game."

He smiled and nodded. "Definitely! By the way, I may see you at the Gathering. It's soon, and I'm going."

She licked his ear. "Okay, goodbye for real now."

"Yep, bye." He turned and left.

Dreamfur startled Bubblepaw; his voice was suddenly next to her. "Good, he's gone."

Bubblepaw sighed. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Because I don't want him too close to you," Dreamfur said; his lip curled in the beginnings of a snarl.

Bubblepaw chuckled and pressed her face against him. His tail brushed against her ear. "Thank you for worrying, I suppose."

"Hey, do you want to come see Vixenfur?" he asked, his voice now filled with excitement.

"Eh?" Bubblepaw asked, confused.

Dreamfur bounded away, and Bubblepaw ran after him. "Hey, wait!"

He stopped at the door to the nursery, his eyes gleaming. "In here."

Bubblepaw gasped when she entered. Vixenfur was nursing four tiny kits.

"They're soo cute!" she whispered to Dreamfur.

Vixenfur turned her head to see the source of the new voice, and her eyes widened. "B-Bubblepaw?" she gasped.

A bittersweet smile crept to Bubblepaw's face. _The cats that really cared about me…I made them worry; I made them sad. I didn't want that to happen…_her 'family' flashed through her head, and she shook the image out. _Liars! I don't want anything to do with them! _Her claws dug into the ground at the thought, but she quickly stopped so the others wouldn't notice.

She heard Flowertail gasp as well; her kits still weren't six moons old yet, Bubblepaw calculated in her head.

"How…? Why…?" Vixenfur stammered, her big eyes still fixed on the apprentice.

Dreamfur's voice was serious now. "It was that young WindClan tom."

The mates exchanged strange glances, and Bubblepaw's eyes narrowed.

"What…?" she began.

Vixenfur's happy voice interrupted her. "Here's Eclipsekit, Deerkit, Dogkit and Moosekit!" she meowed, pointing them each out in turn.

"Uwaah, they're so cute!" Bubblepaw meowed, her suspicion forgotten.

"They were only just born yesterday," Dreamfur said, pride glimmering in his eyes. "Heh, you should have seen Vixenfur's protest at going into the nursery! As soon as her belly started to get swollen, both Honeyclaw and Sapphirestar told her she had to go into the nursery! She put up such a fight, it took three warriors to bring her into the nursery!"

Vixenfur laughed. "Yes, and they didn't leave without scars!"

Bubblepaw purred in amusement. "I feel sorry for the poor suckers that had to do it! Who were they?"

"Squirreltail, Beavertooth and Lionfoot! You should have seen the fur bristle on Lionfoot when he saw Vixenfur claw at Squirreltail…" Dreamfur trailed off, realization hitting him.

Bubblepaw stared at him, her expression blank.

Vixenfur quickly broke the discerning silence. "Dreamfur, I'm hungry, will you go bring me a piece of fresh-kill? A vole would be nice."

"Yes." He was out the door in a flash.

Bubblepaw stood slowly, smiling half-heartedly at the queen. "I should be going now. Good luck with the kits."

Vixenfur smiled until the apprentice was out the door, then her face fell. Dreamfur came back with a vole.

"Mouse-brain!" she scolded.

"I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry," he meowed, dropping the fresh-kill beside her.

Vixenfur sighed. "I hope she'll get over it, and forgive them. They lived happily together for so long…the closest family in the forest, and now…because of one small quarrel at a Gathering— her first one, yet – she resents them, doesn't acknowledge them…"

Dreamfur stared at his paws sadly. "Yes… she has some reason to be mad, though; we kept it from her all these years…poor Nightpaw and Mistypaw didn't even know…"

"Well, we were trying to protect her, but…it's only hurt her." Vixenfur began nibbling half-heartedly on her vole.

"What is StarClan trying to tell us?" Dreamfur meowed, almost inaudibly.

* * *

Bubblepaw's skills were sloppy at first, but they came back fresh and sharp. Dreamfur was surprised.

"Wow, were you training in your head or something?" he asked. "I think you're better now than you were before."

"You're really good, Bubblepaw," Nightpaw mumbled, looking at his paws. Robinbelly, Nightpaw's temporary mentor, exchanged a glance with the deputy.

Bubblepaw hesitated, but flicked her eyes to Nightpaw, who was peeking at her. His eyes quickly flashed down again, then up.

"Umm…will you…talk to me again?" he dared asking.

Bubblepaw kept her eyes on the black tom.

Nightpaw almost looked annoyed now. "Mistypaw and I didn't know anything about it, you know."

Still nothing but silence from Bubblepaw.

Nightpaw tried again. "At least forgive Mistypaw," he mewed. "She's been crying herself to sleep each night, and murmurs your name in her sleep."

Bubblepaw's ears twitched, and Nightpaw's heart lifted. He decided not to push it, and said no more.

Robinbelly stepped in. "Well, that should be enough training for today, you two. Go on, go get some fresh-kill from the pile; you deserve it."

The two apprentices ran off to get their food.

Nightpaw stayed close to Bubblepaw, watching her sideways as they ate.

She was almost finished her squirrel when she looked at Nightpaw. After a moment, she meowed, "You really didn't know." The question came out like a statement, but Nightpaw caught it.

He nodded his head apprehensively. "Yes…I mean, yes we didn't know. Honest," he added. "We really thought you were our sister."

Bubblepaw hesitated, her eyes still on Nightpaw. Her vision was blurred by moisture that began to fall lightly down her cheeks.

She padded over to Nightpaw and buried her face into his fur, sobbing silently as her brother continuously rasped his tongue over her ear.

A few warriors watched on silently as Mistypaw dashed over to their little hug.

"I'm sorry," Bubblepaw mewed softly a few moments later.

"It's okay," Mistypaw whispered. "But will you forgive Lionfoot and Goldenclaw?"

Bubblepaw's jaw hardened. "No," she spat, pulling away from the other two. "_They _were the ones that lied to me, _and _you. I'm gunna go to sleep," she meowed, and padded over to the apprentices' den.

She settled into a comfortable position, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep quickly.

Her eyes flew open to whole new scenery; it looked slightly like Sapphirestar's den. A mossy curtain fell over the entrance, and the cave around her remained unscratched-except for four long horizontal claw marks across the wall near where she stood; on cat did it to claim the territory.

_This couldn't be Sapphirestar's den…the walls, rocks and many other things are all really old…_she thought, turning around. There was a moss bedding, where the leader would sleep.

She shook her head lightly and stepped out of the den, into what looked like a camp. Five other den-like areas stood around the camp, Bubblepaw counted.

A warriors den…apprentices…medicine cat…elders…nursery. Plus the one behind me makes up a Clan camp…

"Greetings, young one."

Bubblepaw whirled around, fur bristling, at the new voice.

She faced the tom that looked just like her, his eyes shining in warmth.

"Welcome, Bubblepaw, to the Clan," he meowed.

* * *

**Well, didja like it? Oooo, will she learn who this strange tom is? Review to find out, please!**


	10. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

***Sniff* I'm sorry...I'm a horrible person. I did this chapter what, two weeks ago, and I just forgot about it. This would have come to you so much sooner, had I posted it as soon as I finished it. And so...forgive me. :(**

Bubblepaw's jaw fell open at her look-alike. She tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't come out.

The tom stared curiously at her, like he was some kit watching the apprentices play-fight. After a moment, he meowed, "Is something wrong, young one?"

Bubblepaw's jaw quivered and then suddenly snapped shut. The tom's ears flicked. "I-I'm fine, thanks…" she breathed. She then stared intently at him, pondering the possible things that could be happening right now. So many questions that she wanted to ask, but she just couldn't. She just simply stared at this curious cat. Who was he? Why did he look like her? Where were they? What did he want to tell her, want her to do?

The tom smiled. "Is there something you want to say, Bubblepaw?" he asked warmly.

Bubblepaw gulped, and took in a deep breath. "Yes," she mewed finally. "I want to know…who are you? And…where are we? And—,"

"Hey, slow down! One at a time!" The laughing tom cut her off. "Well…you should know exactly where you are." When the apprentice didn't respond, he answered his own question. "We are in RiverClan, Bubblepaw; you're at home."

Bubblepaw gasped. "RiverClan? But…how is that possible? This isn't…" she trailed off as she looked around. Then she realized he was right. It _was _RiverClan, but it was from a long, long time ago. "When…?"

"This is from many, many moons ago, long before you were…" he looked to be choosing his words carefully. "…born," he finally finished, looking slightly uncomfortable.

It scared and annoyed Bubblepaw that he looked so off when he said 'born'—every cat was _born, _they had to be. How else could they come to be…? She pushed the thought away and focused on what was happening now.

"So…exactly _how _long…ago?" Bubblepaw asked.

His tail flicked strangely before he answered. "Well…it's the time of Riverstar."

Bubblepaw gasped. Riverstar! "Riverstar? Really?"

He smiled and nodded. He stood up and started walking; Bubblepaw followed suit, looking around incredibly. "Wow…so…Riverstar…are you a warrior? His deputy?" she asked, turning her attention back to the older cat. He looked strong and healthy, and he was very polite, too. Her guess was deputy.

He just chuckled, and suddenly started running.

"Hey…! Wait!" She darted after him, pumping her legs; she knew they'd be sore later. "Where are you going?" she panted once she caught up to him.

He looked at her curiously for a second, then stopped at the top of a hill where Twoleg place would be in Bubblepaw's time. It was beautiful; the rolling green hills with the brilliant sun shining over them, and the river flowing silently beside them. A beautiful she-cat came bounding up the hill towards them.

"Master," she greeted, bowing her head. She eyed Bubblepaw, taking her in. "She…?" she began, but the tom silenced her with a swish of his tail. He nodded his head, looking at her meaningfully. _What a strange dream…_Bubblepaw thought.

"Bubblepaw." The tom snapped the apprentice from her thoughts. "You have a duty. Can you keep a secret?"

A duty? "Yes…" she meowed tentatively. "What du—,"

"Have courage and investigate around you. Your home is in danger from a Twoleg accident. Keep your special friend close. We will meet again, young one. Farewell," he whispered quickly. He nudged Bubblepaw off the edge of the hill, and she fell into blackness. She cried out, but the tom and his beautiful friend were there no more.

* * *

Bubblepaw jolted awake. Her legs were sore and she was panting. She was in the apprentices' den, with Mistypaw and Nightpaw's worried faces near her.

"Are you okay?" Mistypaw asked, carefully approaching her sibling.

"Yes…just a dream…" Bubblepaw breathed. She stood and shook it off in the weak sun. She smiled lightly at her friends. "It's nothing," she lied.

As she padded through the camp, she pondered the possibilities of her dream. _What is my duty…? My 'special friend'? Agh, why are these things never clear? _She came to an abrupt halt. The she-cat's face blew through her mind; Bubblepaw suddenly realized she was familiar. Where had she seen her before…?

"Bubblepaw, come on! Let's go to the training hollow!" Dreamfur called out to her.

She looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure!" she called, dashing over to her mentor.

The two cats went with Runningpaw and his mentor Brightpelt to the training hollow. Runningpaw nudged Bubblepaw. "I'm glad you're back," he murmured to her. "I've missed you a lot. Let's have fun, okay?"

Bubblepaw smiled at her old friend. "Sure thing, Runningpaw."

"Okay, you two," Dreamfur meowed. "Just give it your all!"

"Wait, wait!" Brightpelt butted in. "I'm gunna give you a story to make it seem more real, okay? All right…so, Runningpaw, you're a rouge that's been taking prey from WindClan. Bubblepaw, you're a warrior from WindClan that has spotted this intruder in the act. You're on your own, because you scented something strange and left the patrol, which isn't very far away. Impulsively, you attack the rouge, always with the option of giving up and calling for help from your Clanmates. Got it?"

The three other cats chuckled; Brightpelt had a very wide imagination, and was always helping apprentices 'get into it' by giving them a harrowing plot.

Bubblepaw winked at Runningpaw, then hissed. "Get _off _WindClan territory! Stop stealing our precious prey!" she cried, leaping on Runningpaw. She batted at his face with sheathed claws, and he was having fun taking them like real blows.

He tumbled backwards purposely when Bubblepaw hit him again, and stood up hissing. "Hey! I get hungry too, you know!" he spat, head-butting Bubblepaw's underside. She was shoved back with an _'oof',_ landing on her back. Runningpaw quickly jumped onto her belly, pinning her to the ground. He smirked at her. "Beat that," he whispered to her.

She smirked back up at him. "Not a problem," she retorted, kicking her hind legs up, shoving Runningpaw off. She ran her legs down his stomach, as if raking her claws in an attempt to injure him. He _myowr_ed to her, and then darted forward, biting her ear. "And now, I shall bite off your ear!"

"Not quite, buddy!" Bubblepaw came back with a head-butt; she heard Runningpaw's teeth click lightly together.

Then they just started play-fighting, fooling around and laughing. Brightpelt looked happy that her concept had worked. Dreamfur stepped in after a moment, breaking them up and telling them to get some fresh-kill.

The two apprentices walked out of the hollow, still laughing.

"That was fun! But I totally scared you off! You'll never interfere as I take prey from you, you WindClan fiend!" Runningpaw stated, flicking his tail playfully.

Bubblepaw grinned. "As _if! _I _definitely _scared you off my WindClan territory! Never again will you steal from the great, rabbit-stuffed WindClan!" she laughed, batting a vole off the top of the fresh-kill pile. Runningpaw took a squirrel off the side, and they sat down and started munching.

Runningpaw's ear twitched. "So…speaking of WindClan, how's that friend of yours? The loud, obnoxious, handsome tom?" he asked, grinding his teeth on handsome.

"He's…good. I haven't seen him since he left before," Bubblepaw replied. Coyotepaw's bright white smile and shining fur flashed through her mind. She hoped he was doing well. In truth, she really wanted to see him again…

Runningpaw grimaced. "You know, Bubblepaw…I think that cat's a load of trouble. You shouldn't be too close to him. I mean, what if… what if…" he flicked his ears nervously, but took a deep breath and continued. "What if…WindClan…were to attack RiverClan? Then you'd have to fight him."

Bubblepaw's eyes narrowed. "But why would WindClan attack RiverClan? They have no reason for a grudge. Runningpaw, why…?"

Runningpaw stood abruptly. "It's nothing, okay? Just forget I said anything," he meowed harshly, turning away and leaving his half-eaten squirrel.

Bubblepaw looked after her friend. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. Why had Runningaw suddenly snapped on her like that? Had she said something wrong? And why would he bring up a fight with WindClan? Even if it was always possible, why was he so touchy about it…? Coyotepaw, her dream, and Runningpaw all breezed through her mind. She sighed; there were so many—too many—questions that she needed to have answered.

Suddenly, she gasped. Coyotepaw's fur, her dream—she knew who that oddly beautiful she-cat reminded her of! She looked like Coyotepaw!

* * *

**I hope you liked the chapter! Again, sorry about the whole forgotten chapter thing...but, please review! X-l Please!**


	11. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

**Hey, guys! I am very, UBER sorry for the, like, two month wait for this chapter! But I can explain! I wanted to update ALLLL of my fan fictions at the same time, and, well, it took longer than expected! My deepest, warmest, biggest apologies, you guys!**

**Well, here's the chapter! I really hope you like it!**

Bubblepaw tried to work things out in her head. _Okay, so a tom that looks like me, and a she-cat that looks like Coyotepaw, in the time of Riverstar…? _She lay her head down on the ground, frustrated. None of this made sense!

Bubblepaw stood up and shook her pelt. "I'll just have to ask Coyotepaw, I guess," she muttered to herself.

As she was going over to the fresh-kill pile, Runningpaw trotted up to her. "How's it going, Bubblepaw?"

Bubblepaw sighed. "Good, I guess. Right now, I'm just confused…"

Runningpaw's ears flicked. "Confused? About what?"

"Nothing, just a dream. I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about it," Bubblepaw meowed, not wanting to get Runningpaw involved. Somehow, he'd work out a way to hate Coyotepaw even more. "It's nothing, really," she repeated.

"Okay." Runningpaw took a sparrow off the top of the pile and ran off to Badgerpaw and Sheeppaw. Bubblepaw sighed and took the smallest mouse. She wasn't in the mood to eat, but if she planned on going to WindClan for Coyotepaw, then she had to.

She gulped it down quickly, but half-heartedly, and ended up giving some of it to Cloudpaw.

Bubblepaw slipped to the edge of camp, and looked around to see if anyone was watching her. When she saw that the coast was clear, she dashed out and into the forest.

She lifted her nose to see if she could scent anything. All that was there was the scent of…_what _is _that…? _Bubblepaw looked around to see if she could spot the source of the strange, horrid smell. That was when she realized that it was still fresh.

Her body tensed and her fur stood on end. She couldn't move when she realized that the scent got stronger every moment. Whatever it was, it was moving towards her. And it was something she'd _never _seen before.

Her ear twitched when she heard leaves crunching to her right. She forced her head to look at it.

When she saw it, her eyes widened and her claws dug deep into the earth. It was hideous; it had a long, long tail—but at the front of it's face! It had fur on his back end, but less fur, if any, on it's front end. Little eyes sat on either side of it's face-tail, and ears poked out of it, too.

Bubblepaw was frozen where she stood. When the face-tail started moving forward, her fur bristled. She managed to bare her teeth in a weak hiss, but it still kept coming forward. _What am I gunna do…? _Bubblepaw thought, panicked. _Move, Bubblepaw, move! _

It was only a few mouse-lengths away now. Bubblepaw cringed and grit her teeth, looking away from the ugly creature.

Suddenly, five familiar voices called her name out simultaneously. "Bubblepaw!"

Her eyes flew open, and she saw Skyfoot and Beartooth leaping at the face-tail. Beartooth bit its head and Skyfoot dug her claws into its back. Mistypaw rammed into her, bringing her back to her senses.

"Bubblepaw!" she exclaimed, worry clouding her eyes. "Are you okay?"

Bubblepaw nodded. "I'm fine," she choked out. She looked back at the battle; it was then that she noticed Dragonheart, the warrior from WindClan, had also joined in, clenching on to the face-tail's [furry] tail.

Then there was a flash of silver, and suddenly Coyotepaw was there. He scratched the face-tail's flank twice, then jumped to where its heart might be. He scratched at it vigorously, then bit fiercely once, sinking his teeth deeply into the fountain of blood and scratches.

The face-tail's eyes rolled back, and it fell over, dead.

Coyotepaw spat out blood and glared at it. "Don't _ever _mess with Bubblepaw," he growled. Bubblepaw's face felt kind of hot, but she got over it quickly and ran over to her friends.

"Thank you guys so much! I don't know what happened, I just froze when I saw it! Thank you!" Bubblepaw crowed, bowing her head and flicking her tail.

Coyotepaw looked at her sternly, and walked over to her, inspecting her for any flaws. "You weren't hurt, were you? You're okay?"

Bubblepaw blinked. "I'm fine, thanks." She decided she'd tease her friend a little bit. "But I didn't think you were that protective of me!" she meowed, purring.

Coyotepaw's eyes went wide, and his face heated up. "Uh, yeah, that was…" Coyotepaw stammered, failing to explain his actions. His mouth opened again, but he closed it and stood there, embarrassed. Bubblepaw closed her eyes and licked his cheek, still purring with amusement while Coyotepaw watched her with glimmering eyes full of admiration. (to put it lightly…eheheh…)

Mistypaw caught onto this and her ear twitched with annoyance. Didn't her sister realize that she was seducing her friend—from WindClan? And then what would happen when he confessed to her and she didn't have the heart to turn him down—if she even wanted to—and it turned into a whole, big mess for both Clans?

She waited for the WindClan cats to leave, and then caught up with Bubblepaw. "Bubblepaw…" She didn't know how to start the conversation. She changed the subject hastily. "…Are you all right?"

Bubblepaw sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you guys—I'm fine! Coyotepaw killed it before it got too close." Her tail flicked, and she smiled brightly. "Isn't he great? He's always there to save me, and never fails…"

Mistypaw dug her claws into the soil, frustration boiling up inside her. _I can't believe this…! _"Bubblepaw, you—"

"Oh!" she burst out, cutting Mistypaw off. "I forgot to ask Coyotepaw about…! Mistypaw, don't tell anyone where I'm going, because I might have to cross the WindClan border."

"But, I—" Mistypaw started, but Bubblepaw flicked her tail and dashed back into the woods. She sighed. She was going to have to consult Nightpaw about this…

Mistypaw found him eating with Badgerpaw. "Sorry, Badgerpaw, but this is important." She dragged Nightpaw away, under the shade of a tree where no cat could hear them.

"What's the big idea? I was having a _juicy_vole just now!" Nightpaw meowed.

"It's about Bubblepaw," Mistypaw meowed, her eyes meeting her brother's. "You know that tom from WindClan, the pretty one named Coyotepaw?" Nightpaw nodded slowly. "I think…" She inhaled deeply. She cared a lot about her sister. "…I think that…Coyotepaw is in love with Bubblepaw."

* * *

Bubblepaw was now approaching the WindClan border. She didn't want to cross it, but she was dying to see if Coyotepaw knew anything about the cats in her dream.

She was walking hastily about, trying to focus on where she was stepping, but she was too paranoid that some cat from WindClan would spot her and tear her to pieces. Suddenly, she heard a crunch of leaves, and it almost scared her fur off. She whipped around, looking for the source, but soon realized that _she _was the one that stepped on the leaves. She sighed. "Why am I so scared?" she muttered to herself.

Soon, she approached a steep hill with jagged rocks at the bottom. Her heart fluttered at the sight. If she fell down there…

A mouse scuttled behind her, and she jumped once again. She turned around swiftly and killed it, breathing hard. She tried to bury it, but lost her balance and fell down the slope. She attempted to yowl, but nothing came out of her mouth.

"Bubblepaw!" Coyotepaw's voice rang out, and suddenly she was on safe, steady ground again. And, she was on Coyotepaw's back. He put her down, lying her on her side. He licked her ruffled fur down gently for a few moments. Then he seemed to realize what he was doing. "Wah!" he meowed, jumping back. "I-I'm sorry! I-I-I just…." He licked his chest fur, speechless and embarrassed.

Bubblepaw was red under her fur, but purred. She walked over to her friend and licked his cheek once before resting her head on his back. "That was amazing, that you rescued me again," she purred. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he purred back.

They sat like that for a while, enjoying each other's comfort. Then Bubblepaw remembered why she was there in the first place. "Oh, that's right! Coyotepaw, I had a dream. It was in the time of Riverstar, and there was a tom there that looked just like me, and then, near the end, a she-cat appeared and she looked just like you! Do you know anything about that?"

Coyotepaw was hesitant. He pondered on what exactly to say, but Bubblepaw waited patiently. "Well…yes," he sighed. "But not all of it. For example, I don't know who exactly it was and everything, but…the she-cat in your dream was Silvertail. The tom was her master, but I don't know who he was. And yes, it was in the time of Riverstar; the first time, in fact, that 'the Phantom Duo' were ever needed. Only two other times were they required…until now."

Bubblepaw was dumbstruck. "…What…?"

Coyotepaw sighed again. This was going to be a long story. "Well…legend has it that a long, long time ago, a terrible fate awaited the forest. StarClan knew this, and so they sent a she-cat down from Silverpelt. She was beautiful, with amazing eyes and a silver pelt so stunning that every cat respected her. The pelt probably came from coming down from Silverpelt, but…anyway, she called herself Silvertail, and her eyes immediately locked on a tom—that looked exactly like you— and she announced her reason. The fate came, and Silvertail and the tom found a way to stop it. And so, whenever they were needed, the Phantom Duo were reincarnated, in a way—,"

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to tell me that I'm some reincarnation of a tom from the time of _Riverstar?_" Bubblepaw asked incredulously. "And you are, too?"

"Well, I come from Silvertail's family, so I'm not really reincarnated, but I do have more charm than my father, and I was told to accept the job, so I guess StarClan sent a message to Cheetahspots or something saying about—,"

"What's going on here?" a deep voice sounded from behind them, and Bubblepaw knew it. It was Beavertooth, probably the strictest cat in the entire forest. "I'm reporting this affair to Sapphirestar, and she can deal with you two. Clan cross breeding is strictly off limits. Shame on you both."

Coyotepaw stood up, baring his teeth. "Maybe we just wanted to play together or something. Who said our relationship was romantic?" he growled. Bubblepaw's ear flicked and she almost saddened, but caught herself. He was right, after all!

"Then you can wait until the next Gathering that you are both at," Beavertooth meowed firmly. "You are also a trespasser on RiverClan territory."

Bubblepaw decided to step in. "You know, he saved my life." Beavertooth eyed her suspiciously. "I was off hunting a plump mouse when I fell down onto those rocks down there—almost. Coyotepaw was on patrol and saw me falling, so he came and saved me, and then he stuck around for a few moments to make sure I was fine, and then we started goofing around a little. He was actually going to go home now, weren't you, Coyotepaw?" Bubblepaw stared at her friend pointedly.

He nodded. "Is it so strange that a cat's friend doesn't want to watch her fall and impale herself five times over, but decides to help them? Anyway, as I was saying, I have to go, Bubblepaw. See you later!" he flicked his tail at Bubblepaw, but gave Beavertooth a stunning smile to try and soften him up a little.

"Bye, Coyotepaw!" Bubblepaw called after him.

"So where's your fresh-kill?" Beavertooth asked in a growl.

Bubblepaw snickered under her breath. "Right over there, if you want proof," she meowed, jabbing her nose over to the dead mouse.

Beavertooth glared at her as he picked it up and started back to camp. "I'm still reporting it," he muttered.

"Go ahead," Bubblepaw meowed back. Her mind was set on the story that Coyotepaw had been telling her.

_So…I have something to do with the Phantom Cat…and I'm, like, reincarnated, or from that unknown warrior's lineage or…gah, I'm confused!_

Bubblepaw cursed under her breath at Beavertooth for interrupting them.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks as she realized something she was surprised she hadn't earlier.

Coyotepaw—or Cheetahspots—might know where she came from.

* * *

**:O So...who is Bubblepaw, really? Will the WindClan cats have the answer? Find out in the next chapter! Please review! And sorry again!**


	12. Chapter 10

**_Chapter 10_**

**Heya! Here's the next chapter...so sorry for the wait. -_-" I hope you like it, though! It may not be long, but please enjoy it anyway! ^_^**

Bubblepaw had a disturbing dream the next night. She and Coyotepaw were playing the leaf-chasing game, when suddenly all the trees and leaves withered and the forest became dark. She looked to Coyotepaw, fear chilling her spine. But Coyotepaw's beautiful pelt had looked almost as if it had rotted right on his body; it had lost its shine, there were patches missing from it, and it had gone from a handsome, silver colour to a dirty, unattractive grey. His face became shadowy and gaunt, and his eyes were evil and hungry, just like his smirk.

He pounced on Bubblepaw, but she escaped his claws in time to dash away, towards camp. But when she reached the camp, it was on fire, with all of her clanmates' bodies strewn across the dead grass. Face-tails stood nibbling at the corpses; one looked up and stalked over to her until her friend and the freakish new creature cornered her. Suddenly, many other shadows and faces of animals she'd never seen nor heard of in her whole life appeared, followed closely by Twolegs. She screamed as her body shook involuntarily.

"Bubblepaw! _Bubblepaw!_" Mistypaw's alarmed mew sounded in her ear. "Wake up, sister, you're scaring me!"

Bubblepaw's eyes flew open and she saw her friend shaking her with a frightened look. "Mistypaw!" She stood quickly, shaking her coat and washing herself hastily. "I had a horrible dream…"

"You were fidgeting and screaming while you slept; that's happened a lot lately, hasn't it?" the she-cat asked, her features concerned. "What could be causing these things?"

"Maybe the shock that she doesn't belong," meowed Mosspaw, a rather cold apprentice that always spoke her mind. "Not that it was much of a shock to me. Just stop squirming in your sleep; that's a little more normal."

"What isn't normal is you, fox-breath, and that annoying drawl you call a meow. Keep your thoughts to yourself, Mosspaw, especially when no one's talking to you," Nightpaw hissed, baring his teeth. Mosspaw sniffed and recoiled.

Her brother turned to her. "Maybe you should see Honeyclaw to see if something's wrong with you, Bubblepaw?" he suggested, flicking his tail.

Bubblepaw paused for a moment. "Uhh…yeah, sure, maybe…I'm…I'm hungry, I'm gonna go get some fresh-kill…" Bubblepaw walked out of the den.

Nightpaw and Mistypaw exchanged worried glances.

_Maybe there is something wrong with me…_Bubblepaw thought wearily as she reached the fresh-kill pile. She glanced at it; she definitely was _not _hungry at the moment. In fact, food was the last thing on her mind.

What were the things in her dream and why were they there? And why had Coyotepaw been chasing her with that evil look? She knew that the dreams she had were probably no coincidence, not after the one with the look-alike cat-which arose another question: did somecat know who she was? Coyotepaw? Cheetahspots?

She shook her head, as if the gesture would shake all the worries and problems from her head. Of course, it failed. She sighed and looked up to the sky. _StarClan, if you're listening…please, please lead me to the answer! _

Bubblepaw almost jumped out of her fur when she heard Turtlestorm's voice. "BUBBLEPAW!"

"Ah!" She turned around to face the warrior. "What is it, Turtlestorm?"

Turtlestorm gave Bubblepaw a soft smile. "Something's been bothering you…right?"

"Well…sure, there are things that are going over roughly…I mean…" She looked away as she thought-fast. "I mean, like my fake relationship with those mouse-brains, Lionfoot and Goldenclaw."

Turtlestorm hesitated; while she did, she stared at Bubblepaw. It made her fur crawl. "But that's not the only thing, is it?"

Bubblepaw's teeth clenched together. Turtlestorm had the eyes of StarClan; she could see things other could not. The apprentice did not understand exactly what they meant by that, but she did understand that Turtlestorm was special.

Bubblepaw tried to hold to she-cat's gaze, but she was shaking. _What if she finds out that I'm going to WindClan…?_

"…No," Bubblepaw meowed shakily. "But it's nothing important that's bothering me…"

"Hey, guys," Dreamfur greeted as he sat down with a plump sparrow. "Bubblepaw, Turtlestorm."

Suddenly, Turtlestorm started laughing. She stood, still chuckling. "This is an amusing apprentice, Dreamfur," she meowed, smiling at Bubblepaw with a glint in her eyes. "She will make a good leader of RiverClan agai-Sapphirestar!"

Sapphirestar stood and stared, irritated, at Turtlestorm. "Turtlestorm," she meowed sharply. "How many times must I say that talk of _that _is forbidden."

Turtlestorm winced. "Yes, Sapphirestar," she meowed, bowing. "Please forgive me; sometimes my memory slips up."

"It won't happen again," meowed Sapphirestar curtly.

"Yes, ma'am." Turtlestorm dipped her head respectfully before turning to leave. But before she was out of sight, she turned around to glance at the curious apprentice once more.

Bubblepaw hesitated before asking her leader about what Turtlestorm had said. Sapphirestar gave Dreamfur a strong look and he nodded curtly, his eyes uncertain. "Umm…Sapphirestar?"

She looked at the apprentice warmly. "Yes?"

"Well…I was wondering if you could tell me what that was about? What was Turtlestorm going to say, and what did it mean? I will make a good leader of RiverClan?"

Sapphirestar frowned, shaking her head. "No," she meowed, slight irritation crawling into her voice. "Perhaps it will be explained to you later, child, but not now. Not for a long time now."

"But why…?" Bubblepaw started, but the leader cut her off with a swish of her tail.

"Please, forget what you heard just now." She looked away. "It is forbidden to talk about it…especially to you." She dipped her head in farewell, and excused herself from the conversation.

The apprentice couldn't help but feel offended. What she mean, 'especially not to you'? Did Sapphirestar not like her?

She looked over at Dreamfur, her tail dragging. "Dreamfur…?"

He didn't meet her gaze. "…Lets go on a hunting patrol. Fisheyes! Evergreenclaw! Get your apprentices, we're going hunting," he called, standing and walking to the camp entrance. He was clearly uncomfortable from the talk with Sapphirestar.

As Bubblepaw pawed miserably after her mentor, she noticed cats were staring. Mostly warriors, and older apprentices. The ones her age didn't take any interest and kept talking amongst themselves. When Bubblepaw looked at the ones watching her, they looked away quickly and licked their chest fur, embarrassed, or tried to make it look like they were talking. But not quick enough; she noticed them all.

What was it that they were hiding? She had a feeling it had something to do with her unknown origin.

_So what if I'm adopted? _Bubblepaw thought bitterly. _So what if I'm not a direct descendant of RiverClan? I was raised here, and I live here now! So stop giving these dirty looks like I'm some kind of rat! _she wanted to scream. Instead, she kept walking.

However, this whole chain of events just made her more determined to get into the WindClan camp.

* * *

They got back from the patrol with a good stock of prey. Bubblepaw gratefully ate a squirrel and shared tongues with the other apprentices. There were eyes on her occasionally, but not as much as before they'd left. She was comfortable and glad to have a regular evening.

However, she had devised a plan while they had hunted. When most cats were asleep, just before sunhigh, she would sneak out through a back entrance that she had stumbled upon as a kit. It led to a large, beautiful meadow, where Bubblepaw liked to go and think about things. But there would be no time for lazing around and thinking on this mission; she had to get to the forest. There was a trodden path of trampled grass and flowers that led straight to the heart of the forest. If she followed the right trail from there, she would get to the WindClan camp easily. The apprentice would then sneak along the outskirts of the camp, (covered in mud, of course, to hide her scent) until she found Cheetahspots' den. There, she would ask the medicine cat about herself. When she found what she needed, she'd leave the same way she came.

However, she didn't expect things to go wrong.

* * *

She snuck out easily enough. However, because it had been so long since she'd been there, she had almost forgotten where the path was. That took more time than expected, even though it was a silly mistake. Very silly.

She lurked quietly through the forest, making sure not to step on any loose twigs or anything and alert some cat. She crept over to the WindClan border, and spotted the perfect patch of muddy ground to roll in.

After she had done so, she padded silently to the border, rubbed a little bit on it, hoping to catch some of its scent, and then continued on.

But, she had barely enough time to dart behind a bush when she saw a patrol a fox-length away-and still approaching! She would surely be caught, and her whole plan would be ruined!

* * *

**I hope you liked it! ^^ Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT ANOTHER CHAPTER!**


	13. Chapter 11

**_Chapter 11_**

**YAY! A quick update:D It's not the longest chapter ever, but I think it's pretty...revealing. ;) Find out what I mean and read it. Then review. Then read my other stories. And review them, too. :P**

Bubblepaw held her breath and kept low to the ground, not daring to try moving or making a sound. She could hear them coming closer, but there was a rustle in the other direction and a rabbit flew by, followed by three babies that were almost adults. The patrol cats gasped and charged after them, hoping to catch a meal for the entire Clan.

Bubblepaw let her breath out in a sigh of relief. _Thank you, StarClan…you've saved me. _

She stood and shook her fur, taking a step forward. Suddenly, some cat was breathing on her. She shivered. The tom spoke in a deep voice.

"Why are you on WindClan territory?"

She looked up at the scary tom…only to find that it was Coyotepaw.

"You…!" Bubblepaw exclaimed. "How did you…!"

He smiled. "I smelled you from a mile away." He took a step closer. "…I'm always looking out for your scent, Bubblepaw."

The skin under her fur was burning. Her heart was thudding loudly against her chest; she was sure Coyotepaw heard it. _How embarrassing…! How come he can act so cool, whereas I'm…!_ she thought angrily.

"Why are you here?" he asked softly. He winked playfully. "Couldn't resist coming to see me?"

"No," Bubblepaw responded, trying to urge her heart to slow down. "I'm here to see Cheetahspots."

He blinked, taken aback. "The medicine cat? What do you want with that old bat?"

She looked away. "…Something really important. Can you please get me to her, Coyotepaw?"

He smiled and licked her cheek. "Your wish is my command, master."

Her eyes widened. _What…?_

The thought was pushed out of her mind when they started running at an impossible speed. Within a few seconds, they were in a secluded place of the forest that smelled of flowers and fresh water. She flicked her tail, taking in the wonderful scent. "Wow, Coyotepaw, this place is great!"

Coyotepaw smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he meowed. "But don't move from here while I'm gone. And try not to make any sound. I'm going to get Cheetahspots for you, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay." The wind rustled her fur as she watched her friend walk away. In the cool breeze, he looked magnificent with his fur blowing back. It was like a dream; her best friend was an impossibly handsome tom, who just happened to be the Phantom Cat. She had never thought so much of a cat before.

His soft, sweet smiles teased her, enhancing his beauty ten-fold. She knew she was above average herself, but she still didn't compare to her friend. He was always making excuses to come see her. Crossing onto her territory, getting scolded by her and her Clanmates. But even though she scolded him whenever he did intrude, she was truly glad that he wanted to be closer to her. And that he did, no matter what it meant. He was always there to save her.

Before she knew it, tears were coming to her eyes as she stared at Coyotepaw. "Coyotepaw."

He turned around, his eyes warm and inviting. "Bubblepaw, what's wrong…?"

She shook her head, laughing lightly. "Nothing's wrong, Coyotepaw…I'm just…I'm so grateful to you for everything that you've done for me. I don't know how I can repay you…you're the best friend I've ever had…"

He padded over to her, his steps unheard. "Shh," he whispered into her ear. "You just repaid me there. I'm glad to be your best friend, Bubblepaw. And I'll always be here to offer you that friendship and…" he caught himself before saying what he really wanted to. His mouth hung open for a second but he quickly snapped it shut.

"…And what?" Bubblepaw asked, cocking her head to the side.

He smiled at her. "Nothing. Forget it. I'll go get Cheetahspots now."

_And something more…a lot more. _Coyotepaw was glad he had stopped himself from saying those words. But at the same time, he was sad that he didn't have the courage to tell Bubblepaw how he felt.

Meanwhile, Bubblepaw was glowing with happiness. Coyotepaw would never hurt her. She could trust him with her life…and her love.

She knew she couldn't have those feelings for him. But you can't help them, can you? Nothing could stop her, especially not Coyotepaw. They were from two different Clans, and it could never be. No matter how much she wanted it.

However, this is only the beginning…

"Cheetahspots," Coyotepaw called into the medicine cats' den in a hushed voice. "Cheetahspots, come here for a second."

A light figure emerged from the den. The blotches on her feet told Coyotepaw that it was Inkpaw, the medicine cat apprentice.

"Hey, Coyotepaw," she meowed. "Can I help you with something?"

Coyotepaw shook his head. "I need Cheetahspots for this…but maybe you can come," he told her. He was more respectful to the medicine cat apprentice than the other apprentices; she was older than him, and if she were a warrior, she would have gotten her warrior name around this time. "Hey, are you gonna get your warrior name soon?"

She looked at him happily. "Actually, yes! Cheetahspots won't be retiring for a while now, and she didn't want to hold me back. She figured that I should get my warrior name now, while I'm still 'young and bouncy'. Ha ha!"

He smiled. She was clearly very excited to receive her warrior name. "I wonder what it will be?"

"Me, too! Maybe Inkstorm? Or Inkclaw? Inkfoot? Inkheart?"

She continued to shoot off names that she hoped to receive, and Coyotepaw was happy for his friend, but…he didn't have all day. It wouldn't be long before RiverClan noticed Bubblepaw's absence.

"Ah, Inkpaw, could you please get Cheetahspots for me?" he asked politely, kicking in his charm. "I'm kind of in a hurry."

"Oh, right. You're friend can't be kept waiting too long, I suppose."

Coyotepaw's eyes widened. "Huh…?"

Before she entered the den, Inkpaw looked back at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

He smiled. _A true medicine always receives signs, I guess…or maybe I'm just that obvious with someone else along? _he thought, laughing at himself.

"Laughing at yourself, Coyotepaw?"

The tom looked over. Cheetahspots sat, looking amused, outside of the den with Inkpaw behind her. He smiled. "Hello, Cheetahspots."

"Yep, whatever, just cut to the chase," Inkpaw sighed. "We know Bubbl-"

The medicine cat hushed her apprentice with a sharp flick of her tail. "Mind what you say, young one."

Inkpaw looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, Cheetahspots. I'll be careful next time."

"But we do know why you have to us today, Coyotepaw." The medicine cat smiled. "Please, show the way to your friend."

Coyotepaw dipped his head in respect before standing again. He walked swiftly through the bushes, his ears pricked for any sign of his Clanmates…or Bubblepaw's.

"It's here," he whispered, parting the grass for the two she-cats to enter.

Bubblepaw looked back at them. She flicked her tail in greeting, and the others dipped their heads.

"Greetings, RiverClan apprentice," Cheetahspots meowed.

"Please, call me Bubblepaw."

"I'm Inkpaw, the WindClan medicine cat apprentice," Inkpaw mewed.

Bubblepaw smiled at her.

The cats all settled down into the lush grass. "What is it you would like to know, Bubblepaw?" Cheetahspots asked.

Bubblepaw frowned and gulped. "Well…I wanted to know if you knew what I…what I am, and where I came from."

Cheetahspots smiled, but not out of pleasure. "I knew this time would come one day." She looked at Bubblepaw, straight in the eye. "Yes, child, I _do _know where you come from. And now, I'll tell you."

* * *

**:O Cheetahspots _does _know! Where does Bubblepaw actually come from? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter! If you review! PS REVIEWING IS NOT ADDING THE STORY TO FAVOURITES. REVIEWING IS REVIEWING. WRITE ONE NOW, PLEASE. :)**


	14. Chapter 12

**_Chapter 12_**

**Hey guys! Yes, it's the long-awaited chapter! The one where we finally discover Bubblepaw's past! Read on, my friends, read on!**

Bubblepaw's heart thudded loudly against her chest. Her ears twitched with nervousness. _I can't believe I'm actually finding out my past…! _

"This is going to sound very strange, but you must be open-minded. It is all true." Coyotepaw touched his tail to Bubblepaw's nose as Cheetahspots took in a deep breath. "You, Bubblepaw, apprentice of RiverClan…are Riverstar."

There was a sudden silence. Cheetahspots' hard gaze met her own as she processed what she had just heard.

"Um…excuse me?" Bubblepaw managed to choke out. "I'm…what? Who?"

Inkpaw sighed. The WindClan medicine cat shushed her with a sharp flick of her tail.

"You are Riverstar," Cheetahspots repeated, more slowly this time.

"I'm Riverstar's…descendant?" Bubblepaw tried to make sense of the she-cat's words.

"No, child," Cheetahspots meowed wearily. "Oh, let me make this more simple for you to understand. You are a…reincarnation of Riverstar."

Bubblepaw's eyes widened. "Are you lying to me?"

Cheetahspots shook her head and Inkpaw rolled her eyes.

"So…who are my parents?" she asked, her heart beating even more rapidly than before.

Cheetahspots' eyes bore into Bubblepaw's. "Lionfoot and Goldenclaw."

Bubblepaw bared her teeth and dug her claws into the soft earth beneath her. "They put you up to this, didn't they? They put all of you up to this, to make me believe I had a purpose, and that I was actually their daughter! Well I don't buy it!"

"If this was all fake, I wouldn't have bothered even coming," Inkpaw snapped, her fur standing on end. "I would give you up for a pile of cobwebs any day, so there's no way I'd waste my time telling you a fake past!"

"How can I believe what you say! What _proof _do you have that what you're saying is the truth?" Bubblepaw retorted.

Inkpaw growled and sheathed her claws. She waited until the RiverClan apprentice let her guard down, then smacked her across the cheek. "How _dare _you disgrace Cheetahspots," she growled. "There _will _be proof later on. Just shut up and listen for now, you stupid mouse-brain."

Bubblepaw was shocked that Inkpaw had hit her, even though her claws weren't out. She couldn't reply to that, so she just closed her mouth and nodded her head.

Cheetahspots sighed. "What will I do with that temper of yours, Inkpaw? Oh well. Did you bring it?"

"Yes, Cheetahspots," she responded, unraveling a small leaf that contained a strange herb. It was a mix of brown and orange, and gave off a strange scent.

"Eat this, and you will understand what I mean when I say you are Riverstar." Cheetahspots nudged the stuff towards them. "It was given to me by StarClan, for this specific purpose."

Bubblepaw hesitated, but ate the smelly herb. It tasted awful! It was like eating mouse bile that was mixed together with dirt. She soon found herself falling asleep.

* * *

"Bubblepaw." Coyotepaw's gentle voice woke Bubblepaw.

"What…happened?" she asked groggily, sitting up with a dizzy head.

"The herb Cheetahspots gave us knocked us out…into this world here." Coyotepaw gestured with his tail to his surroundings. It was pitch black. She could just see Cheetahspots and Inkpaw, and that was all.

"Where are we?" Bubblepaw was astonished.

"StarClan."

As Cheetahspots said this, a flash of light struck the area. When the light dimmed and Bubblepaw could see again, she gasped. They were in the forest, but certainly not where they had been when they fell asleep. They were inside a dark, hollow tree with an entranceway in front of them. The ground was soft and comfortable beneath them.

"Make yourself comfortable, because this may take a while." Cheetahspots nudged Bubblepaw's head towards the entranceway. "Look closely."

Suddenly, she didn't see what was outside the tree. She saw something else, like a memory. It was like this hole in the tree was a screen; one that showed things that had already happened.

Bubblepaw's vision went blurry, and she fell into another dream world, inside the dream world.

Bubblepaw looked around. They were back at RiverClan camp, but everything seemed so new. She remembered this place-it was from her dream, the one where she had met her tom counterpart!

Then it changed abruptly. She had no idea where they were now.

Cheetahspots and the others were there with her. But it was like none of the other cats saw them, even though they were clear as day to her.

"See him, over there?" Coyotepaw was looking at a litter of kits. There was one that was trying to get away from his mother.

"Yes," she meowed. "I think that was the tom I met in my dream. The one that looks exactly like me." She looked away from the mischievous kit to the apprentice den, where a beautiful she-cat lay eating a squirrel. "And she's the one that looks exactly like you."

Her eyes were fixed on the bubbly tom.

The scene suddenly changed again. They were now by a river. Two cats were arguing. Bubblepaw listened to their conversation.

"The sky has told me that your son will lead us all to great things!" one cat was meowing.

"Yes, but it will put him in danger," the other said, looking over his shoulder to where the litter of kittens and their mother lay. "I don't want to do that."

"That's what you're worried about?" The first cat laughed. "Your son will live a long and healthy life. There are four others like him, too. They all have great futures in their prophecies. They will find a home for us all, Waterfoot."

Waterfoot smiled at his son. After a long moment, he meowed, "…Okay, Stareye. Let him meet up with the other four and their servants."

_Servants?_ Bubblepaw wondered.

Again, the scene changed.

They were now circled around a strange, glowing stone. There were ten young cats there, too. The colourful ones sat in the front, with identical beautiful companions behind them.

Bubblepaw spotted her tom look-alike, and moved closer to him.

"We are gathered here, around Moonstone," a big voice meowed. It was Stareye, the cat from before. "To acknowledge new leaders. To start our official history here. The cats in front, stand. You are our leaders. The cats in back, stand. You are our deputies and their loyal guardians. They are your masters." By 'they', Bubblepaw figured he was referring to the leaders in the front.

_I think I'm starting to understand now…_Bubblepaw thought. _But only a little bit._

"Skypaw."

The pure white cat stood.

"You are now Skystar, leader of SkyClan."

Skystar bowed and sat back down.

"Thunderpaw."

A yellow-beige cat stood.

"You are now Thunderstar, leader of ThunderClan."

Thunderstar followed Skystar's actions.

"Windpaw."

A grey cat stood.

"You are now Windstar, leader of WindClan."

Windstar did the same as the two before.

"Shadowpaw."

A black cat stood.

"You are now Shadowstar, leader of ShadowClan."

Shadowstar bowed and sat.

"Riverpaw."

Bubblepaw's look alike stood.

"You are now Riverstar, leader of RiverClan."

Riverstar bowed and sat down with the other four leaders.

"You all have great responsibilities to fulfill. Make sure you never lose sight of your true goal in life, and always protect your Clan." All the cats bowed and the ten young cats left.

"Thunderstar, Windstar, Shadowstar and Skystar all have four duties to fulfill in their life. ShadowClan may turn to evil in time to come. Skystar's Clan will meet doom in the near future. And Riverstar…he has not four, but _six _duties to fulfill in his lifetime. I wonder if he will be able to accomplish them all…"

The scene changed and they were in the leader's den. Riverstar was clearly much older, but still rather young. He looked very ill, and Stareye was with him.

"I don't understand…there is still one task I am yet to perform?" Riverstar asked, bewildered. He coughed a few times. "But I have already done so much for my Clan! I love them! I cannot bear to leave them without finishing my full duty to them…!"

"Shh, Riverstar. You completed five out of six duties. The other four leaders only got four. And some of them still haven't completed all of them," Stareye explained in a soothing voice. "But it takes time for these things to happen. That's why you are unable to complete your sixth task…" Riverstar hung his head, ashamed. "…in this lifetime."

He looked up. "What?"

Stareye smiled. "You could not complete all six tasks. And so, StarClan will create another you when the time is right. This other you will meet up with their equivalent of Jadefur-" he nodded to the Coyotepaw look-alike standing outside the den "-and together they will fulfill the sixth task."

Riverstar smiled. "Okay. As long as I know the job will get done eventually…I can rest peacefully." The very first RiverClan leader slowly closed his eyes, never to awaken.

"Riverstar is dead," Jadefur announced, a mere second after it had happened. Stareye didn't even have time to open his mouth.

The scene disappeared, and they were once again in darkness.

Cheetahspots' voice startled Bubblepaw. "There have been many failures before you, child. But I am certain that you are the one." She smiled. "You even fell in love with Coyotepaw. Your unconfined attraction to each other only helps prove my point." Bubblepaw felt the heat rise to her face. She was about to protest, but the medicine cat continued. "You will complete Riverstar's-your-sixth task."

"So…where do I come from?" Bubblepaw asked.

"You were sent from StarClan. You have no real family. That is why I told you Lionfoot and Goldenclaw are your family-because they are. Otherwise, you are simply a reincarnation, and nothing more."

Bubblepaw's eyes filled with tears. _Oh no, _she thought. _I've pushed away my only family, thinking I had some cat to run to, that was actually a blood relative. But I didn't. they're all I have. Oh, mother, father, I'm so sorry! _

"You will lead your Clan through the dangers the forest faces."

"My Clan? I'm still just an apprentice!" Bubblepaw protested. Just how long would it take to fulfill this prophecy as old as time itself?

"That may be an obstacle, but sooner or later, you will be an experienced warrior. They will choose you for deputy, and you will eventually become leader. That is when the real danger will occur. You will only get pieces of it now. But always be ready for anything, young one."

* * *

She woke with a start. They were in the flowery place again, but it was only her and Coyotepaw.

"I'll escort you home, Bubblepaw," he offered.

Oh great. He's just as embarrassed as I am about the whole 'you even fell in love with Coyotepaw' thing Cheetahspots said. Oh, he must think I'm such an idiot!

And yet, Coyotepaw was thinking along the same lines.

_So…that means she loves me back? But…should I tell her? Or will she think I'm only saying that because of what Cheetahspots said…? Oh, she must think I'm such an idiot! _(Why?)

* * *

**I know some people are gonna hate it. But they're just gonna hafta deal, and so am I. I made up my own Clan origins, and made Bubblepaw Riverstar's reincarnation. Please review and tell me what you think of it. The next chapter will be about Bubblepaw and her family making up, and I don't know if I'll do a time-skip or more about Coyotepaw and Bubblepaw. But anyways, please review! (And that means to actually REVIEW!)**

**Thank you for reading!**


	15. Chapter 13

**_Chapter 13_**

**Hello, my precious readers...neheheh...XD Soooo, here we are with the new chapter of this story! I hope you like itttt! And Chibi Ookami Tora, thank you for helping me ^^ Now, onward with the story!**

After saying an awkward good-bye to Coyotepaw, Bubblepaw set off to find her siblings.

"Dreamfur, do you know where Mistypaw and Nightpaw are?" she asked when she couldn't find them.

He looked at her and meowed, "They went on a hunting patrol. They should be back soon. Hey, where've you been all day, Bubblepaw? I haven't seen you."

"Well, bye!" Bubblepaw mewed before dashing off towards the nursery. _I can't let anyone know that I've been to WindClan…I'd get major punishments..._

She felt someone's eyes boring into her back, and turned to see who it was. Turtlestorm was watching her intently. She remembered the last time she had talked with the special warrior; Sapphirestar had interrupted her. Bubblepaw smiled as she recalled her leader saying that she wouldn't know the prophecy for a long time, and yet she found out the next day.

Bubblepaw dipped her head. "Turtlestorm," she greeted.

"I hope you know you face grave danger," Turtlestorm replied, looking Bubblepaw in the eye.

Bubblepaw gulped before answering. "I know. You mean about the prophecy, right?" Bubblepaw returned the she-cat's stare.

The warrior nodded. "I will forget that I know about your excursion."

Bubblepaw flicked her tail. "So…does that mean you knew the prophecy all along?"

"Of course." Turtlestorm sat and curled her tail around her paws.

"But you didn't tell me."

"Of course not. Sapphirestar would've had my head. That's why no other cat told, either."

Bubblepaw blinked, processing the information. "So…everyone knew about me?"

"That is correct," the warrior told her. "All of the older warriors that were there at the time of your finding knew about it, but were forbidden to talk about it."

"So…everyone knew, but no one ever told me? They _all _knew, but never even hinted…?" Bubblepaw meowed quietly, trembling with anger and sadness.

"Weren't you listening?" Turtlestorm mewed, irritated. "We were forbidden to talk about it. All of us."

"But still!" The apprentice dug her claws into the soft earth beneath her.

"Still, nothing. We don't even know the whole prophecy. I don't. Sapphirestar doesn't. Coyotepaw doesn't. Cheetahspots doesn't. Your parents don't. Got it? You don't even know the whole thing."

Bubblepaw sighed and the anger left her. "I suppose…"

"Bubblepaw!" Mistypaw called out as she trotted up towards her sister. "Dreamfur said you were looking for us. What for?"

Bubblepaw dipped her head to Turtlestorm before leaving with Mistypaw. "Where's Nightpaw?"

"He wanted to go pig out, since he caught a little more prey than usual." Mistypaw giggled. "But that doesn't mean he can _eat _more prey than usual!"

"Nightpaw, could you please come over here?" Bubblepaw asked politely.

He dropped his squirrel. "Uhh…" He stood up and walked over to the two apprentices.

"I'd like to tell you something," she began.

Nightpaw interrupted her. "Yeah, that's great, but why are you being so formal with us?"

Mistypaw nodded in agreement. "It's true; it's like we're suddenly complete strangers to you!"

Bubblepaw hung her head. "I'm sorry for being so polite…"

The three cats all blinked together, realizing how silly that sounded. They all _mrrowed _in amusement loudly, causing a few other cats to stare at them in confusion.

"So what'd you wanna tell us?" Nightpaw asked.

Bubblepaw hesitated. "…I'm going to make up with Goldenclaw and Lionfoot."

Nightpaw gasped, and Mistypaw squealed in happiness. "That's so great, Bubblepaw! I'm so happy!" Mistypaw purred loudly.

"Uh, yeah, we _hear _you, Mistypaw," Nightpaw grumbled.

Ignoring her brother, Mistypaw asked, "What made you change your mind?"

_I can't tell them about the prophecy. _"Uhh…I just realized that, who cares where I actually come from? Goldenclaw and Lionfoot raised me in RiverClan, alongside you two. My real family have been here all along, I was just too mouse-brained to realize it, and I'm sorry."

"Hey, hey, we already passed that stage," Nightpaw meowed. "Now go tell it to…mother and father."

Bubblepaw's eyes lit up as she nodded. "Right!"

"Bubblepaw…?" Goldenclaw asked, dumbfounded at her daughter's sudden appearance.

"Why are you talking to us…I thought you hated us?" Lionfoot definitely didn't beat around the bush.

"I…I'm sorry, and I forgive you!" Bubblepaw bowed her head.

Moisture clouded Goldenclaw's vision. "Bubblepaw, I'm so happy…!" She dashed up to Bubblepaw and pressed her face against her flank. They both purred happily.

Lionfoot stepped up and swiped his tongue over Bubblepaw's ear. "Thank you," he meowed quietly.

"No," the she-cat told him. "Thank _you._"

* * *

After the evening patrol, Bubblepaw decided to visit the nursery.

"Oh, Bubblepaw!" Vixenfur exclaimed happily. "I'm so happy to see you! Come look, my kits have grown so much!"

Bubblepaw looked over each of them, and they _had _grown-quite a lot, actually. "Oh wow, they were so tiny last time I saw them, and that wasn't very long ago! But I'm surprised they aren't always outside, bouncing around. I mean, they're _Dreamfur's _kits, for StarClan's sake…"

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?" Dreamfur growled into her ear.

"That you're really, uh, bouncy?" Bubblepaw replied, trying to hold in a little fit of giggles.

"That's what I thought," Dreamfur meowed.

Vixenfur laughed. "You two haven't changed at all, huh? And it's been quite a while since Bubblepaw was named an apprentice…"

Bubblepaw blinked. "Really? I don't think it's been _that _long…"

"Oh yes, it has." Vixenfur meowed. "Actually, you guys should be warriors soon…maybe after the next Gathering?"

Bubblepaw's eyes widened. "Whoa, really?" she exclaimed. "But…I went into, uh, dormancy for a moon. Won't that hold me back?"

Vixenfur thought about it, but Flowertail, the other queen, answered. "I don't think so. I mean, who could blame you after the truth was unloaded on you like that?"

Bubblepaw's spirit lifted. She would be a warrior soon!

"Mommy, she's really pretty," one of Flowertail's kits mewed.

"She is, isn't she, Ribbonkit?" the queen responded.

Ribbonkit stared at Bubblepaw for a moment.

Dreamfur chuckled. "I think he has a crush on you, Bubblepaw."

"What? No, I-"

Suddenly, Ribbonkit burst out, "I think you should be my mate!"

"Eh!"

Flowertail burst out laughing. "Oh, Ribbonkit, you're too much." She looked at Bubblepaw. "However, he does tend to stick with his first decision…"

Bubblepaw's mouth hung open. "So now…I've got a kit chasing after me when I'm about to be a warrior!"

"Actually, around the time you become a warrior, they'll become apprentices, if not the exact same time," Vixenfur explained.

"A kit's still better than that trash from WindClan," Dreamfur murmured into Bubblepaw's ear.

Bubblepaw rounded on Dreamfur. "Don't put Coyotepaw down like that! He's very special to me! You should be grateful to him!" She stalked out of the den angrily, Dreamfur hot on her tail.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not!" he yelled. "It makes me very _mad _that he's special to you! In fact, I wish you'd have nothing to do with him! He's just some loser from another Clan and that could never work out!"

"Well too bad! Nothing you say can change what I do, Dreamfur, or how I feel!" Bubblepaw retaliated.

"How you feel? And what is that? Are you in love with him, or something? Well, Bubblepaw? Answer me!" he hissed.

"And what if I am, huh? What are you gonna do? Why do you care so much what I do, anyway?" Bubblepaw stabbed.

"Because!" The deputy was seething rage and hatred towards Coyotepaw. "I don't want my deputy having an affair with a tom from another Clan!"

Bubblepaw's skin coloured. She was embarrassed and surprised. "Y-your deputy…?" she stammered.

Dreamfur looked her dead in the eye. "Yes. All along, I've planned it that I would name you deputy when I became leader. But that means you should have a fairly clean slate if you want to help me run RiverClan. Now would you throw away that opportunity just for some cheeky tom in WindClan?"

Bubblepaw clenched her teeth angrily. "That isn't fair, Dreamfur. That's cheating, and you know it!" she yowled before dashing away.

Moisture was streaming down her face from her eyes. _So I'm supposed to give up someone I love so much to be deputy, and be enabled to fulfill the prophecy, or dump my love in a pile of mouse bile and take on all those responsibilities without the most comforting shoulder to lean on? That isn't fair! It's just not!_

"So…who is this tom that's so special to you, Bubblepaw?" A tiny voice mewed.

The she-cat looked up, surprised. "Ribbonkit!" she gasped.

"Tell me who he is, and I'll beat him up!" Ribbonkit meowed defiantly. "After all, you're _my _mate!"

Bubblepaw blinked, then _mrrowed _in laughter. "You're funny, Ribbonkit."

His eyes widened with excitement. "Really? So that means you've accepted me, and we'll be mates and have four kits, two she-cats and two toms? And name them Flowerkit, Petalkit, Wheatkit and Falconkit?"

"Uhh, what?"

"Yay!"

Bubblepaw sighed. _What a kit…_

* * *

**I hope you liked it! X3 The next chapter will probably have a time-lapse, either starting after the warrior ceremony or starting right away with the time-lapse then having a flashback of the ceremony. Probably the first, but I dunno. Thank you for reading, and hopefully reviewing! :3**


	16. Chapter 14

**_Chapter 14_**

**Yay! Naming ceremony time! :D The thing is, I don't know if everyone will like the names...^^" But, PLEASE DON'T BUG ME ABOUT IT! THEIR NAMES ARE THEIR NAMES! RAWR! And thank you for beta-ing, Chibi Ookami Tora! ^^ Have fun on your trip!**

**Anyways, please enjoy the chapter^^ **

Bubblepaw sat among the other apprentices, waiting for the naming ceremony to begin. She felt very grateful that she was allowed to participate, since she missed out on a moon of training.

She bounced up and down excitedly. "I wonder what my warrior name is going to be?" she whispered to Runningpaw.

"I know! I'm just so excited…" he trailed off, looking away from her. "So…do you know when Coyotepaw will become a warrior?"

"Eh…probably soon," Bubblepaw replied, feeling the awkwardness. After a moment of silence between the two cats, Bubblepaw asked, "Why do you hate Coyotepaw so much?"

He looked up at her, his eyes embarrassed. "Because I-"

The beginning of the naming ceremony interrupted Runningpaw. Sapphirestar called the six apprentices forward.

"Badgerpaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code?" she asked in a loud voice that reached all across the camp.

"I do."

"Then, from now on, you will be known as Badgerface."

Badgerface dipped his head as RiverClan chanted, "Badgerface! Badgerface!" He jumped off of Stone Mound (A/N: I made up my own High Rock or whatever, sorry! XD This is waayy after Firestar and Leopardstar, so I figured I could make up my own!) happily and joined the other warriors.

"Runningpaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code?" Sapphirestar repeated.

He bowed. "I do."

"From now on, you shall be known as Runningsky."

The Clan chanted Runningsky's new name, and he leapt coolly off Stone Mound.

Bubblepaw paid special attention to the next two apprentices.

Sapphirestar repeated the words for the third time to Mistypaw.

"I do," Mistypaw meowed, determined.

"From now on, you shall be known as Mistyleaf."

Bubblepaw and Nightpaw were the loudest in chanting their sister's name, and Lionfoot scolded them for being so noisy.

Then it was Nightpaw's turn.

"From now on, you shall be known as Nightfur."

After Nightfur's chanting died down, it was finally Bubblepaw's turn.

"Bubblepaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code?"

Bubblepaw's heart thudded loudly in her chest. "I do."

"From now, you shall be known as Bubblewing."

Bubblewing's eyes glowed with pride as RiverClan chanted her name over and over. She hopped gracefully down from Stone Mound and landed with barely a sound. It was as if she had suddenly matured after receiving her warrior name. She joined her friends in the crowd as Sapphirestar called the kits up to be named as apprentices. Flowertail's three kits jumped up to Stone Mound, squealing with excitement.

Bubblewing's mind wandered to Coyotepaw as she watched the ceremony go on. She wondered if her friend had been made a warrior on the same day that she had.

_Coyotepaw, please come visit me, _she begged him silently, hoping that somehow, he would hear her.

"….Ribbonpaw," Sapphirestar finished after Bubblewing's attention had turned back to the ceremony.

_Ugh, _she thought. _It's that annoying kit that thinks he can suddenly declare me his mate. _

When the chanting had died down, Sapphirestar concluded the ceremony. As cats starting shuffling back to their daily duties, Ribbonpaw cried out, "Wait! There's something I want to say!"

"Ribbonpaw!" Flowertail hissed. "What are you doing, you fool? Get down from there right now!"

Cats murmured amongst themselves as their attention slowly went back to Stone Mound.

"If any one of you cats think you can lay a paw on Bubblewing, you're wrong! 'Cause she's gonna be MY mate when I become a warrior!"

RiverClan blinked, as if all together. Bubblewing's face grew hot. "WHAT?" she shrieked. "YOU BRAT!"

Nightfur hissed at her, and she suddenly remembered the silent vigil she was supposed to share with the other new warriors. She blinked, embarrassed. "Uh…oops," she squeaked.

Bubblewing quickly turned around and dashed to the camp entrance, beckoning to the others to come with her. As they arranged themselves outside camp, Nightfur and Mistyleaf tried to contain their amused purrs, which caused them to come out as snorts. Bubblewing gave them an 'I-can-hear-you-how-dare-you-enjoy-my-pain' kind of look.

They flicked their tails apologetically, but they were still snorting. _You guys suck, _she told them silently.

* * *

Bubblewing's eyes were getting tired as the darkness crept around her. She was unbelievably bored, but didn't dare move; she had already messed up by yelling at Ribbonpaw earlier. She didn't want to screw up again.

Suddenly, the air felt strange her. She looked at Runningsky quizzically. He looked back at her with a strange look in his eyes.

_She looks so beautiful right now, with the moonlight shining on her like that, _he thought. His claws dug into the ground. He could contain his feelings no longer.

"Bubblewing!" he meowed.

Bubblewing's eyes widened. _He…!_ The other snapped their heads suddenly towards the commotion, surprised that Runningsky had spoken.

In the blink of an eye, Runningsky had pinned Bubblewing to the ground. Her mouth hung open as she pushed on his chest, but she was exhausted because she hadn't slept.

"I love you, Bubblewing," Runningsky confessed, looking into Bubblewing's eyes. She gasped, thinking, _no! _"I hate Coyotepaw so much because he's too close to you. I'm jealous. I've loved you for so long, and I've been with you for so long…but suddenly _he _came and took you away from me." He swept his tongue over her neck, and her face burned. "Leave him," Runningsky whispered. "And love me."

"Well now," a familiar voice purred.

Bubblewing's head snapped over to Coyotepaw.

"Oh my gosh!" she gasped.

Runningsky looked back at Bubblewing, hurt.

"That's Coyotefur to you, ingrate," he meowed, giving him a hard, yet amused look.

Runningsky gathered himself. "Tch," was his reply.

"You got your warrior name, too?" Bubblewing gasped.

Coyotefur smiled and nodded. He padded over to her and knocked Runningsky aside. He helped Bubblewing up. "And I heard you calling for me," he whispered.

"So," Runningsky growled. "You'll break vigil for _him, _but not _me?_"

Bubblewing looked back at Runningsky, her mouth open, but no words coming out. His gaze went from hurt to cold as he looked over at Coyotefur.

"You-!" He lunged at the WindClan warrior with unsheathed claws. Coyotefur simply sidestepped and Runningsky crashed to the ground. He sat up, spitting out dirt and glared at Coyotefur. Coyotefur remained calm as he smiled back, which made Runningsky even angrier. He lunged wildly again, attempting to bite Coyotefur's neck, but Coyotefur once again stepped out of the way. But he miscalculated where Runningsky would land this time, and instead of biting Coyotefur, he bit Bubblewing!

Once he came back to his senses, he quickly let go of her, and she stared at him as blood trickled down her fur.

Coyotefur hissed. "You mouse-brained fool!" He walked over to Runningsky, unsheathed one paw and swiped it coolly across Runningsky's face. Startled, Runningsky fell sideways. He stood up, dumbfounded.

He blinked. "Ha! You didn't even cut that deep; it's not even bleeding!"

"Really?"

Suddenly, blood squirted out of every claw mark, spraying the grass. It squirted, but also leaked down the side of his face in big, thick rows. His legs buckled and he fell to the ground, grunting in pain.

"Oh my gosh!" Mistyleaf finally squeaked. "Are you guys okay?"

"That was really stupid, Runningsky!" Nightfur shouted. "You should be ashamed!"

"Argh…help…me…" he rasped. Badgerface stalked up to him and gave him a steely look before licking his wound. Runningsky looked down, shame clouding his eyes.

Coyotefur tapped Bubblewing on the shoulder with his tail.

"Are you feeling okay, Bubblewing?" he asked as he started to lick the bite on her neck.

"Ah…yes," she replied. "The wound isn't deep. But…" She looked over at Runningsky. "Will he have permanent scars on his face now?"

Coyotefur grunted. "Only one of the marks is deep enough to leave a scar. And a small one, at that. Now he can always be reminded of his stupidity."

"Sooo," Nightfur meowed, trying to act casual. "We _all _broke vigil tonight. And Coyotefur trespassed. And two cats were wounded. Whaddaya say we pretend like nothing happened?"

"I won't say a thing about the whole breaking vigil," Mistyleaf mewed. "But how exactly do we explain Bubblewing's and Runningsky's wounds? A squirrel tried to mess with us?"

Badgerpaw snickered.

"Well…we can say that Runningsky was whipped by some tree branches on his way back to us after making dirt," Bubblewing suggested.

"And a weird cat attacked Bubblewing, but after he bit her, he was chased off by Nightfur and Badgerface," Coyotefur added.

"Agreed," Nightfur sighed.

"Hey, look," Mistyleaf flicked her ears towards the sky. "The sun's rising."

"I hope StarClan doesn't totally hate us now," Badgerface sighed, standing up and shaking his fur off. Runningsky muttered a thank you, but Badgerface ignored him.

"Well, really it's only one cat that truly broke the vigil," Mistyleaf meowed. "Well, two." She looked from Coyotefur to Runningsky. His cut still bled lightly, but he didn't say anything.

"How do you even get hit in the face by a tree branch?" Badgerface whispered to Nightfur.

"Who cares, as long as it makes him look stupid."

Mistyleaf sighed. "We're bad cats…"

Coyotefur meowed a cheery good-bye to the RiverClan cats, and gave Bubblewing a meaningful look before dashing off into the woods.

Bubblewing's heart was beating crazily.

* * *

**I hope you don't hate the names! Please review, and don't attack the names! I beg you! The story will be starting to get into the prophecy next chapter...and things will heat up between Coyotefur and Bubblewing...PLEASE REVIEW! **


	17. Chapter 15

**_Chapter 15_**

**So...here is chapter 15. :3 I hope you like it...the story will be getting into the main plot more now...it will start getting juicy...kekeke...XD I'm so weird. Also, I posted a new story for CardCaptor Sakura. If anyone in the Warriors section cares. ^^" Just figured I'd advertise anyway, heheh. And, I have a poll on my profile, if you wanted to check it out. Please review! ^^**

**Oh, and...I would like to mourn the loss of Chibi Ookami Tora's story, Stripepaw's Strange Mind. :'( (TO: CHIBI OOKAMI TORA: ) And by the way, Tanuokami IS a pretty cool name. X3 And I'll beta your Chrno fic. ^^ Sorry to have to write this here, but I have to get off the computer...**

Bubblewing woke up from her dream. She had dreamed of her first night as a warrior, when she was on vigil and all six cats had broken their silence and told no one about it. She still felt slightly guilty about it, but she made sure she worked really hard to make up for it, almost always being busy with something.

She had only seen Coyotefur once since that night. She told herself that she was a warrior now, and didn't have time for Coyotefur, but she knew that wasn't true. She could always drop something or other and go see him. But she didn't. Her main reason was that Ribbonpaw was always following her around, and making his mentor, Duckfrost, schedule all of his training so that he would just happen to be everywhere she was…all the time. On her time off, he tagged along with her three out of four times. No matter how many times she told him to get lost, he wouldn't budge. He was still on about making her his mate, and she was still totally against it.

Bubblewing stood up and shook her fur off before licking it down with a few swift swipes. She hadn't told anyone that she was Riverstar reincarnated. She knew that everyone knew something about it, but the most important detail, that of her being Riverstar, was left out among most cats. She had no idea what to do about it, so she didn't do anything. She wanted to be deputy so that she could possibly end up the leader of RiverClan, and the Clan would willingly listen to her if Riverstar's last duty were to come up.

Another thing that had not moved along: Coyotefur being a sort of servant to her. She still knew almost nothing about this, but she knew that Coyotefur had only found her and knew that she was his 'master', but they still remained just friends. He hadn't really voiced anything about it, and she didn't want to ask about it. She was worried that Coyotefur only stood by her all the time because it was an obligation; he had to. That was another reason she didn't want to meet with him.

Bubblewing padded out of the warrior's den. The sun was shining brightly, and she had to squint to see. She breathed in the fresh air. All of that had happened before leaf-bare, which had ended a few days ago. Little traces of snow were scattered randomly throughout the forest, melting smaller with each passing day.

"Bubblewing! Bubblewing!"

She cringed when she heard the familiar voice calling her name.

She turned around, annoyed. "What do you want, Ribbonpaw? Can't you leave me alone?"

Ribbonpaw rushed up to her excitedly. "No, I can't! I need to be with you at all times if I'm gonna protect you! I'm your mate, remember?"

Bubblewing rolled her eyes. "Maybe in your sick fantasies we are. And I'm the warrior here, _I _protect _you," _she pointed out, turning her back on the apprentice and walking over to the fresh-kill pile.

Ribbonpaw followed her. "But why are you so against me being your mate? I mean, you have no interest in any other toms, right?"

Bubblewing flinched and Coyotefur came to mind. She kept walking and didn't say anything.

"Hey, aren't you gonna eat anything?" Ribbonpaw asked. "We just passed the fresh-kill pile…"

"I…I'm not hungry," she replied, bounding off in a random direction. _I…I have to try and forget. He and I…never. _

She suddenly bumped into someone. She shook her head and apologized.

"It's okay," Dreamfur meowed. He looked happy. "You know, Sapphirestar wants you to go the Gathering. Hopefully, you won't decline this time."

"The Gathering…?" Bubblewing echoed. She had been asked to go to Gatherings three times, but had turned them all down. She told Sapphirestar that she wanted to stay and guard camp…all three times. She had been sure the RiverClan didn't believe her even once. There would many questions asked if she turned down yet another offer to go to a Gathering. "Uhh, sure, I'll go this time." Dreamfur looked suspicious. She decided to turn up the cheeriness a notch. "I don't think I'll ever wanna turn down a Gathering again! Guarding camp is pretty boring…but I guess I've just felt proud because I'm an official warrior for RiverClan, guarding my precious camp…"

Bubblewing actually never wanted to go because she feared Coyotefur would be there. _But, what are the chances of him being there this time? It's totally possible he isn't going tonight…_ She tried to convince herself, but she felt like she knew he was going to be there.

A cat called out for Dreamfur, and he went over to them, leaving Bubblewing.

She sighed and walked forward, only to spot Runningsky watching her. His eyes had hardened since the fight so many moons ago, and it took all Bubblewing had to stay far away from him. Whether he still loved her or not, she did _not _want to talk to him.

"Bubblewing."

She froze as he meowed her name. She decided to just pretend she hadn't heard him and kept walking.

"I know you heard me."

Bubblewing turned to him, but didn't meet his eyes. He had a scar on his cheek where Coyotefur had scratched him. Just as Coyotefur had predicted, one claw mark had remained as a scar.

She finally looked up to see the scar, but ended up locking eyes with Runningsky. They ended up just staring at each other for a long while, not saying anything. Bubblewing's heart started pounding hard against her chest. She was getting scared; she didn't know what Runningsky would do now, after not talking to him for the entire leaf-bare. Was he mad? Sad? Happy?

Bubblewing jumped in surprise when Runningsky finally moved. He was…bowing!

"I'm sorry about the night of the vigil, Bubblewing," he apologized, his head low to the ground. "I ruined it for all six of us, and I'm sorry."

Bubblewing just stood there for a second, her mouth hanging open. She really hadn't expected that! Then she felt guilty; how could she have thought so badly of her friend?

She gathered herself, smiled, and meowed, "It's okay, Runningsky. We're still friends, right? I know you'd never intentionally hurt me."

Runningsky smiled back, though he was a little hurt by the 'friends' thing. He did still want to be more…

He brushed his tail over her ear, and she flinched. They stared at each other, Bubblewing's eyes wide and Runningsky's hurt.

Runningsky turned away abruptly. "I understand," he muttered before starting to pad away.

"Ah-wait! Runningsky!" Bubblewing called out, stopping him. He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. Bubblewing gulped and mewed, "Please forgive me…but I can't fully forgive you yet. I'm sorry."

"I still love you, Bubblewing," Runningsky whispered, so softly the wind almost took his voice away.

"I still love Coyotefur," Bubblewing meowed, matching Runningsky's light voice.

"I know." A pained smile crossed his face.

Once again, they gazed at each other. Then they burst out laughing suddenly. As they laughed, Bubblewing thought, _Just like old times…_

A cluster of other RiverClan cats crowding around the camp entrance cut off the two cats' laughter. Bubblewing and Runningsky rushed over to the group, as well.

Doubletooth had found a strangely marked bird in the forest and brought it back to camp. This one had many different colours on its feathers, and it amazed the RiverClan cats.

They had been continuously been finding very strange creatures in the forest throughout leaf-bare and up till now. They had discovered a small horse with black and white stripes grazing in the distance, a small rodent that kept popping out of the ground, rabbits that were much bigger than the ones in the forest, and many others. Bubblewing shuddered as she remembered how she was almost attacked by the weird face-tail. Coyotefur had saved her then, as well. The forest cats had no idea where they were coming from.

"Dreamfur, send a group out to check for any more," Sapphirestar ordered, looking over the bird.

"Yes, Sapphirestar," Dreamfur meowed, turning to the other cats. "Doubletooth, Grassfur, Bubblewing, Fisheyes; go out and make sure there aren't any others."

The four cats dipped their heads and raced off into the forest. Bubblewing glanced sideways at Fisheyes. Her brother had been killed when Bubblewing was still an apprentice. It had taken three moons for her to get over it, and now she was almost back to normal.

They hadn't found any other creatures, and by the time they got back, it was time to go to the Gathering. Sapphirestar brought the bird Doubletooth caught along as well.

While they waited for the rest of the Clans to arrive, Bubblewing tried to stay in one area. She wanted to minimize her chances of running into Coyotefur.

ThunderClan was already there when they arrived, and ShadowClan had arrived almost at the same time as RiverClan. WindClan arrived last, and Bubblewing recognized Coyotefur's silky pelt in the crowd. Her heart ached; she longed to go and talk with him, but she forced herself to pay attention to what the leaders were saying.

Well, she tried to. Her mind kept wandering. _What if he comes over to talk to me? What will I do? Will he think I hate him if I don't talk to him…? _She was utterly confused, and Vixenfur seemed to have sensed it. She cuffed Bubblewing's ear and brought her back to reality.

Vixenfur's kits had become apprentices the moon before. Eclipsepaw stood beside her mother, but her other three kits were back at camp. Bubblewing flicked her ears in thanks, and Vixenfur nodded.

"…animals entering the forest," the ThunderClan leader, Eaglestar, was meowing. "They eat our food and threaten our cats."

"We have been having this problem as well," Cranestar, WindClan's leader, added. "One of our kits, Brackenkit, was killed by one of them."

"These animals are clearly a threat to us," Darkstar stated. "We don't want to eat them in case they are diseased, and the bigger ones might want to eat _us."_

"But how do we stop them? We don't know where they are coming from," Eaglestar meowed.

"Dreamfur, the bird, please," Sapphirestar meowed. Dreamfur hopped up to Sapphirestar, placed the bird at her paws, and hopped down again. "Doubletooth caught this strange bird earlier today. We should examine it."

The leaders all mewed in agreement, and they turned away to look at it. The rest of the Clan cats started talking almost as soon as their backs were turned.

Bubblewing noticed Vixenfur and Dragonheart talking excitedly, and was about to go and ask them about it when they dashed off in different directions. Vixenfur ran over to Bubblewing and started pushing her in the direction that Dragonheart had gone.

"Hey-stop! What're you doing?" she protested. Vixenfur ignored her.

Suddenly, Dragonheart popped out of the crowd, shoving Coyotefur along. Bubblewing's eyes widened, and she protested even more, but Vixenfur ignored her still.

They stopped when Bubblewing and Coyotefur were face-to-face.

They stared at each other. Coyotefur had grown even more handsome over leaf-bare; Bubblewing hadn't thought it to be possible for him to be better-looking than before.

"My, you've both grown more beautiful than before, hmm?" Dragonheart meowed, clearly amused.

Coyotefur nodded, and felt the heat resonating off of Bubblewing, which caused him to blush as well. They just stood there, staring.

* * *

**Not much to say here! Please review! ^^**


	18. Chapter 16

**_Chapter 16_**

**Well...if you're wondering why this chapter is so short...I wanted it to be short, okay? I just didn't feel like writing any more for it. =v= Haha...sorry. XD Well anyways...here's chapter 16! ^.^**

Bubblewing's head was spinning. Would he think she was snobby now that she hadn't even tried to contact him for the past few moons? He had grown so much since she last saw him, she thought again. When her gaze flicked to his eyes, she noticed he was looking at her.

"Uh…hi," she choked out.

"Long time no see," he meowed quietly. Bubblewing reddened more and nodded. Vixenfur and Dragonheart were suppressing giggles, letting out a small outburst now and again.

"Sh-shut UP!" Bubblewing told them. She was sure that Coyotefur could see her red skin from underneath her fur.

They giggled again and walked away slowly, staring over their shoulders and bumping into quite a few other cats. A ShadowClan warrior hissed at Dragonheart, and she started fighting with him.

Coyotefur sighed. "Dragonheart is…eccentric…"

"I, uh, see that," Bubblewing coughed.

They stared at each other again.

"How's Runningsky doing?" he asked, though it was clear he didn't care.

"Oh, he's fine…"

"I won't forgive him for hurting you," Coyotefur meowed bluntly.

Bubblewing blinked, embarrassed. "He didn't really hurt me…it was just a scratch…"

"He _bit _you," the WindClan warrior reminded her. "And he pinned you-"

"Stop!" Bubblewing meowed suddenly. Coyotefur's eyes widened. She met his gaze evenly. "I don't love him. There's…someone else."

Coyotefur opened his mouth slowly, but before anything came out, Dragonheart and the ShadowClan warrior came barreling over and knocked Coyotefur to the side. A whole bunch of cats were laughing as the two stubborn cats chased each other.

"Isn't that against the truce?" one cat meowed.

"Aww, they're just playing," another laughed.

Bubblewing giggled too. Then she realized Coyotefur's face was right in front of her own. She gasped and tried to step back, but her foot met a wall of dirt.

"Guhh…"

Coyotefur rubbed his head against her chest fur. Her heart started beating really fast.

"I'm the only one allowed to do this," he murmured. "Not Runningsky or anyone else."

"…Right," she whispered. She felt really peaceful and happy at that moment. He licked her neck fur and got even closer to her. She was now completely back against the wall.

"Ah-hem."

They both gasped and Bubblewing jumped. She hit her head hard on a rock and moaned. Coyotefur flew away from her, coughing and licking his chest fur in embarrassment.

"You two are _so _lucky it was just me," Inkpaw meowed with narrowed eyes, though she looked amused.

"Uhahaha…" Bubblewing laughed nervously her mind swirling. What if any other cats had seen? They would have been finished.

"Are you guys stupid or something?" Inkpaw continued harshly.

"Yes," Bubblewing replied. "Umm, no. Yes. No. What was the question?"

Coyotefur snorted. Inkpaw rolled her eyes and looked closer at Bubblewing. She raised her paw and pressed it to Bubblewing's forehead.

"Hm…you might be coming down with a fever. Have your medicine cat check it out later."

Bubblewing smiled. _I guess, under her tough exterior, she's kind and caring. She kinda has to be to be a medicine cat, though, I guess. _

"Thank you," Bubblewing meowed.

"Whatever," Inkpaw responded. "Just…no more lovey-dovey mouse-dung in plain sight of everyone, 'kay?"

"Uh, right," Bubblewing meowed, blushing.

Inkpaw smirked and walked away. Coyotefur sighed in relief. Together, they rejoined the crowd as the leaders faced them and started speaking once again.

"We believe we now know what is the cause of these strange animals," Cranestar announced.

The Clans held their breath.

"Twolegs."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Yes," Darkstar added. "We have noted that many-if not all-of these creatures have a fresh scent of twolegs."

"What will we do? Do they plan on attacking us?" A distressed howl came from the crowd.

"First, we will wait," Sapphirestar explained. "We'll see if they keep coming, or if they stop, until the next Gathering."

"And then what happens?"

"We will decide then," Eaglestar meowed.

"A prophecy will be involved," Sapphirestar added.

Bubblewing's eyes widened. _My prophecy…? _

Coyotefur sensed what she was feeling. He stepped closer to her. "Don't worry. I'll be there for you," he whispered into her ear. He added in a mumble, "Master."

The RiverClan warrior's eyes widened even more, but she didn't say anything about it.

"This concludes this moon's Gathering!" Eaglestar announced.

The big group of cats started filing into four smaller groups. Bubblewing looked back at Coyotefur as she padded away, and he meowed, "I'll come for you."

Bubblewing snorted. "I'll come for you? That's kind of strange. How about, you'll visit me."

Coyotefur smiled and nodded. Bubblewing smiled back and padded over to RiverClan.

* * *

**Well. Isn't that nice. :3 I know, right! XD Heheh. Anyway, I hope you review! And thanks to Tanuokami for beta-ing this story! ^.^ Bye bye!**


	19. Chapter 17

**_Chapter 17_**

**Hmm! A turning point in the story! :D HOMG! Thank you icefire! I accidentally reposted chapter 16, thinking it was chapter 17! XD Thank you so much for pointing that out! And also, thank you to everyone who reviews~~I hope you enjoy~~**

"Bubblewing!"

At hearing her name, Bubblewing turned to see who had called her. Beartooth was bounding toward her.

"What is it, Beartooth?" she asked when the warrior had stopped running.

"Sapphirestar wants to personally look around the area to see where the strange creatures are coming from. She wants you to be in the group to look around," Beartooth explained.

Bubblewing flicked her tail in excitement. "Sure! Definitely! Of course! I can't say no to Sapphirestar!"

She walked over to the leader's den with Beartooth. Grassfur, Ribbonpaw, and Wreathpaw were going, too, by the looks of it. Sapphirestar called them into the den.

"So as you all certainly know, the forest is slowly being infected by creatures owned by Twolegs. And today, we are to do some investigative work to see if we can find the source," Sapphirestar meowed to the group of cats.

"But why do you want to come as well, Sapphirestar?" Grassfur asked.

"I want to see for myself what's happening around my home, especially since it's a potential threat to my Clan."

"I see," Grassfur meowed, her eyes shining with respect. "You're a great leader if there ever was one, Sapphirestar."

Sapphirestar smiled back at the warrior. "Thank you, Grassfur." She stood up and walked over to the entrance of her den. "Now, let's set off!"

They bounded quickly through RiverClan territory, and slowed down when they reached the border.

Beartooth sniffed around. "There are many strange scents mixed in with our own…some are stale, some are fresh."

Sapphirestar glanced around and then flicked her tail for the cats to start walking again.

Ribbonpaw was bouncing with excitement. "This is so cool! I can't believe it! I'm actually outside of the forest now…! I'm so excited!"

Grassfur smacked him on the head. "Shh, Ribbonpaw! Focus!"

"Right!" He completely straightened out his back and held his head high while walking in a march. Bubblewing couldn't help but to snort in amusement. He certainly was different!

After walking for a little while longer, they entered an area with an awful smell. Wreathpaw gagged.

"Th-that's disgusting!" Ribbonpaw exclaimed, attempting to cover his nose.

Sapphirestar opened her mouth and let the scent drift into it. After a moment of evaluation, she snapped it shut. "It's a mix of many different smells, including live creatures, dead ones, and droppings," she concluded.

"That's amazing!" Bubblewing gasped. "You could get that analysis just from breathing it in for a moment!"

Sapphirestar smiled at her. "It's not that hard, Bubblewing. You just have to concentrate. Now, I want to get closer. We must approach silently, and unseen. Crouch as low to the ground as possible." With that, Sapphirestar lowered her body to the grass and moved along, the others close behind her. As they closed in on the area, they spotted a large, caged area big enough for several forests, and a bunch of huge monsters and Twolegs carrying around cages of many different shapes and sizes. The cats were amazed by what they saw; some animals they recognized, and some were completely alien. It blew their minds and they stared in awe before gathering themselves again.

"It seems the Twolegs are bringing all these strange animals to this one place…" Sapphirestar meowed.

"But some of them are escaping," Beartooth finished her thought.

"So…what do we do?" Wreathpaw asked, concerned.

"We must develop a plan…but even then, it might be too much work for just us cats to handle. I mean, look at all those Twolegs and their monsters! Not to mention all the weird creatures that keep wandering into our forest." Sapphirestar glanced around again. "I want to get a closer look."

The seven cats stalked even closer to the horrid cage. Something rustled behind a box near them, and Bubblewing snapped her head in that direction.

Suddenly, a group of three animals jumped out from behind the box, screeching. They looked like smaller, furrier versions of the Twolegs. Bubblewing's fur bristled and she bared her teeth at the creatures while her friends hissed and yowled at them. But that didn't faze them; they kept charging at cats.

"We're going to have to attack them!" Sapphirestar announced. Beartooth leapt onto the closest one, digging his claws into it and biting down on its shoulder. Wreathpaw ran to help him and scratched viscously at the thing's feet. Ribbonpaw dashed over to another one and hissed at it fiercely. He started tearing at its leg with his claws.

Bubblewing and Sapphirestar turned to the last one and jumped at it from both sides, startling it and causing it to fall. They sunk their teeth into its stomach as it thrashed around, trying to grab at the cats.

Suddenly, a piercing yowl ripped through the air. Bubblewing whipped around to see Grassfur with a huge wound that was bleeding terribly. Ribbonpaw was frozen in shock, not knowing what to do. Beartooth and Wreathpaw were still busy with their opponent.

Grassfur wobbled and fell over. Bubblewing started to panic. She turned to the RiverClan leader, who was raking her claws down the persistent creature's arm.

"Wh-what should we do? No one can help her!"

"You can," Sapphirestar meowed calmly. "Don't worry about me; you go help Grassfur."

"But-"

"Do you doubt my abilities?" Sapphirestar asked sternly.

Bubblewing gulped and looked from the thing to Grassfur. She ran over to the wounded warrior.

"Grassfur, are you all right? Grassfur!" Bubblewing meowed to the she-cat. She moaned and Bubblewing looked around frantically for cobwebs. Finally she spotted some and dashed over to get them, then ran back as fast as she could.

"Grassfur!" Bubblewing called again, trying to sort out the cobwebs. This time she didn't even moan. "…Grassfur…?" Bubblewing prodded the warrior's side and turned her over. Her stomach turned to stone when she saw that the cat's eyes were blank.

Beartooth and Wreathpaw had defeated their creature and taken over the one Ribbonpaw and Grassfur had been fighting. The apprentice rushed to his mentor's side.

"…I'm…I'm sorry, Ribbonpaw," Bubblewing whispered to him, rubbing her head against his flank in comfort. "But she's gone."

Ribbonpaw's ears twitched and his voice trembled. "I-It's okay, it's not your fault, Bubblewing…that wound was way too big for even Honeyclaw to help."

The last two beasts screeched and ran off, and the other cats ran over to the body.

"Grassfur was a great warrior," Sapphirestar meowed. "StarClan will be proud to have her."

They lifted the body onto Beartooth's back. Then Wreathpaw noticed the leader was limping badly.

"Sapphirestar, what's wrong?" she asked.

"That monster twisted my paw around," Sapphirestar replied. Bubblewing's stomach churned. A dead warrior and a twisted paw-on their leader! It was too much.

"But at least we know where the source of terror is now," the leader continued. "So we must soon notify the other Clans."

"Yeah…"

They walked back to camp in silence.

* * *

As soon as they got back to camp, they broke the news about Grassfur to the Clan, and buried her body as well as sat vigil by it until the sun went down.

* * *

The next day, all of RiverClan crowded around the medicine cat's den, awaiting news of Sapphirestar's paw. Finally, the leader and Honeyclaw emerged from the den.

Sapphirestar's whole leg was wrapped in thick cobwebs. She limped over to Stone Mound, every other cat following in anticipation.

"I know you are all wondering what's going on with my leg," she meowed loudly. "And Honeyclaw has told me it will never heal properly. And so, with much regret, I am retiring as the leader of RiverClan."

* * *

**GASP! OMG! Sapphirestar's resigning! XD Please review! **


	20. Chapter 18

**_Chapter 18_**

**Wow...I think these chapters are getting quite short...XD I'm sorry! I dunno why! **

RiverClan stared at Sapphirestar. It felt like a dream; like none of it was real. Sapphirestar had been the leader of RiverClan for so long; and now suddenly, she was retiring?

"R…retiring…?" Dreamfur stuttered. Slowly, everyone's attention turned to the deputy.

Sapphirestar smiled at him. "Yes, Dreamfur. I am resigning as leader of RiverClan and joining the elders. Therefore," she raised her voice, "you, as my deputy, are to become the leader of RiverClan! The ceremony will be held tomorrow. For now, everybody get some rest."

Bubblewing padded over to Sapphirestar. "You're…retiring?" she mewed.

Sapphirestar purred. "It makes me happy to see that I was so important in all of your lives. But I don't want you all to be sad. Bubblewing, I expect a lot from you. I know you'll do great things in your lifetime."

Bubblewing's heart warmed at the older cat's praise. It almost made her embarrassed. "Thank you, Sapphirestar," she meowed, dipping her head in respect before going back to the warrior's den.

As she lay in wait of sleep, Bubblewing thought about what Sapphirestar had said. It made her very happy, but there was something nagging at the back of her mind about it.

Finally, just as she was drifting off, she realized her doubt.

_Does she only have so much faith in me because I'm Riverstar's reincarnation?_

* * *

Every cat was especially well groomed the next morning, ready to say farewell to their leader. Soon enough, they had all gathered around Stone Mound some way or another, and sat in expectancy.

Sapphirestar hobbled up onto the rock, a big lump on her leg. She chuckled. "I see there is no need to summon you. And so, I would like to start our ceremony with the appointment of young Ribbonpaw's new mentor. As we all know, Grassfur went to StarClan last night. Ribbonpaw, please step up here."

Shaking slightly, the apprentice did as she said.

"Your new mentor shall be Bubblewing," Sapphirestar declared.

Bubblewing blinked. Ribbonpaw's mentor…? She jumped onto Stone Mound and touched noses with her new apprentice. His eyes were sad, yet they glimmered with happiness that Bubblewing was his new mentor. She couldn't help but smile widely. She felt honoured.

After the pair had climbed down from Stone Mound, Sapphirestar continued.

"And now, I would like to officially announce my retirement as your leader. I am now to be called Sapphirestone." She beckoned for Dreamfur to join her. "And I would now like to pronounce Dreamfur as the leader of RiverClan. Welcome, Dreamstar!"

Sapphirestone stepped out of the way as the rest of the cats chanted their new leader's name. He still looked freshly shocked.

When the chanting died down, Dreamstar gulped before making his first announcement. "Thank you all very much…I'm very honoured to have this role…and I'd like to appoint my new deputy." His eyes bore into Bubblewing, who sat with Ribbonpaw. Her ears twitched. "I shall appoint Bubblewing to be my deputy."

Her eyes widened. She was genuinely surprised. He had been so adamant all those moons ago when he had declared that if she didn't stop seeing Coyotefur, then he wouldn't make her his deputy. But now…

Again, Bubblewing went up to Stone Mound. RiverClan cheered her name.

She bowed. "Thank you. I will do my best to serve as your deputy."

After the ceremony ended and the cats dispersed, Bubblewing pulled Dreamstar aside.

"I thought you were blackmailing me with that position," she hissed, forgetting that he was the leader now.

"I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. You are a very talented cat. I guess…that was a bit of a bluff. I really wasn't going too, but when the time came that I had to choose…I chose you," he told her, smiling bitter sweetly.

"Dreamstar…"

Ribbonpaw ran into Bubblewing's side. She grunted before whipping around to whack the apprentice on the head.

"You little brat!"

"I'm so glad you're my new mentor, Bubblewing!" he exclaimed. "We're gonna have so much fun together! Wait until you see my impressive moves!"

Bubblewing stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever. Come and see me tomorrow morning and we'll start your training. I promise I'll go easy on your weak and trembling self," she teased.

"Bubblewing!" Sapphirestone called out to her. Immediately, the warrior dashed over to the elder.

"Yes, Sapphirestone?"

"Even though I'm retired now, I'd like to arrange a meeting with the other three leaders. I want you, Dreamstar, and Doubletooth to go to the Clans and request that they meet with me. Take Ribbonpaw, too," she explained. "Tell them to meet me at the outskirts of the forest so I may show them what the Twolegs are doing."

"Yes, Sapphirestone," Bubblewing meowed.

The old cat laughed. "I'm sorry, giving orders as if I'm still leader. Please, call over Dreamstar so I can tell him of my plan."

"Yes." Bubblewing dipped her head before bounding off to fetch Dreamstar.

The excitement in her rose as she thought about her mission. Maybe now she could see Coyotefur if they were going to WindClan? Her heart skipped a beat just thinking about him, and she giggled happily.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! :D:D Thanks to Tanuokami for beta-ing!**


	21. Chapter 19

**_Chapter 19_**

**So yeah! XD Next chapter! Oh and this one (and the next one, being as this doesn't have much to it:P) are dedicated to Vixenfur and Dragonheart. :) I'm sooo sorry I don't come to the site much anymore. :'( I really am. **

**These are for you!**

Dreamstar assembled the troop to go the other Clans.

"I want to get this done quickly," he explained to the other cats. "So try to ooze friendliness so we don't get mauled. I want to be back as soon as possible so I can go and get my nine lives."

Bubblewing chuckled. "Are you gonna drown yourself as an experiment after you get them?"

The new leader glared at her. "Shh. Let's go."

The four cats started at a run towards ThunderClan. They slowed when they reached the border, where they sniffed cautiously to see if anyone was there.

"The scents are stale," Doubletooth reported. "Nobody's on patrol around here right now."

Dreamstar nodded, and they began again, scanning the area for cats.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice growled.

Bubblewing whipped around to face a light brown tom with darker paws glaring menacingly at them.

Dreamstar stepped forward shakily. "I…I am Dreamstar, the new leader of RiverClan. I've come here to deliver a message to…to Eaglestar."

The tom growled again, piercing each of the RiverClan cats with a frightening look. "Fine. But if you try anything, I swear I'll bury you."

Dreamstar gulped and nodded. The ThunderClan cat led the way to the camp.

Eaglestar was wary of the RiverClan cats at first. He sat down by the fresh-kill pile with his deputy, Goldenheart, and the cat from the border, Littlefoot, by his side.

"What brings you here today?" he asked.

"I am Dreamstar, the new leader of RiverClan," Dreamstar introduced.

Eaglestar's ears twitched. "Well, what happened to Sapphirestar?"

"Er…she is Sapphirestone now. She injured her foot permanently and stepped down as leader," Dreamstar explained.

The ThunderClan leader nodded.

"Bubblewing, explain what happened with the twolegs," Dreamstar meowed.

She did as he said, and stepped forward. "Sapphirestone invited myself and some other cats to go down and investigate what was happening with the strange creatures entering the forest. We witnessed some disgusting things. There were normal sized and gigantic monsters littered everywhere and different sized cages. Many different cries came from the cages, and the stench there was horrible. Sapphirestone wanted us to pass this information to you and the other leaders. She said it shouldn't wait."

Eaglestar processed the information, and then nodded his head again. "All right. I will tell my Clan. Notify me if further actions take place."

Bubblewing nodded, and the four cats moved on to ShadowClan territory.

They noticed a very fresh scent of ShadowClan, close to WindClan. Bubblewing wondered what that could have been about.

Soon enough, they ran into Batwing, ShadowClan's deputy. He was panting; he must have been running.

"What do you need?" he asked.

Dreamstar was surprised by the deputy's sudden appearance. "Uh…can we…see Darkstar…?"

Batwing's eyes narrowed. "…All right."

Darkstar was a very welcoming cat, despite being ShadowClan's leader.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," he meowed. "What can I help you with?"

"Sapphirestar is no longer leader of RiverClan."

_Oh, _Bubblewing thought, _a new introduction! _

Darkstar's eyes widened. "What…happened…?"

"She hurt her foot, and it won't ever heal properly. So she resigned as leader. I am Dreamstar, her former deputy," Dreamstar explained politely.

"I see…please tell her I hope she feels well," Darkstar meowed, concerned. "But surely you didn't come here only to tell me that?"

Dreamstar shook his head. "I'm afraid not. On her last excursion, she went with some cats to see if she could find any clues as to what was happening with the creatures popping up in the forest."

Darkstar nodded, and Bubblewing was queued to begin her part.

When she finished explaining, Darkstar was deep in thought.

"I hope this doesn't turn into a big disaster…it might mean the end of us," he meowed. "But we mustn't think that way. There has to be a reason for it, and a way to stop it."

After saying their good-byes, the four RiverClan cats once again set off to different territory. It was nearing sun down by now.

But Bubblewing bubbled with excitement. Now, they were headed to WindClan!

_Coyotefur!_

* * *

**So kinda fillerish...but next chapter'll be better! (I think, eheh) Please review! :D**


	22. Chapter 20

**_Chapter 20_**

**Yay, it's longer this time! :D It's finally getting into the depths of the story (I know, 20 chapters in? XP) Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing, please remember to review! :) **

Bubblewing's heart pounded louder and louder as they neared the WindClan border. When they finally crossed it, she inhaled deeply, taking in all the scents of Coyotefur's Clan.

Her ears perked when she picked up his scent. It was semi-fresh. However, she didn't want to seem too eager, especially with Dreamstar around, so she didn't look behind every rock or sniff every leaf she came across to hunt him down.

A few moments later, however, her excuse came.

"Sorry but…I have to go make dirt," Doubletooth stated sheepishly. Dreamstar nodded, and the other warrior jumped away to find a tree.

"Oh! So do I," Bubblewing added hurriedly, leaping away without waiting for an answer. She ran in the direction of his scent, but stopped when she realized she was probably running straight into their camp.

The she-cat jumped behind a tree, wondering how she could find him now.

As she looked behind the tree, her eyes widened. She wasn't supposed to find him, he was supposed to find her.

"Coyotefur," she whispered, "come."

Her eyes darted around, excitement building inside of her. It suddenly seemed really quiet. Until she heard breathing beside her.

Bubblewing looked down at her friend. "Coyotefur!"

"I've come to your call, master," he whispered, licking her fur gently. She purred in response, though she wasn't really used to being called master.

"I'm here because of RiverClan's new leader, Dreamstar," Bubblewing meowed.

Coyotefur's eyes narrowed. "He's the one that hates me."

Bubblewing giggled. "Unfortunately, yes."

"And you're his new deputy?"

Bubblewing nodded happily. Coyotefur smiled. "Congratulations."

"Thank you." She stood up. "Want to come back to others with me? I'll say I met you out of pure coincidence."

Coyotefur _mrrowed _in amusement. "Because they'll believe that."

Bubblewing shrugged, smirking. "They have no evidence against it, do they?"

The tom laughed again and caught up with the RiverClan deputy. Together they went back to Bubblewing's group.

"Finally, you're back!" Ribbonpaw exclaimed when he saw his mentor. But his tail flicked in annoyance when he noticed Coyotefur. "What's he doing here?"

"Yes," Dreamstar stepped in, "what _is _he doing here?"

"I thought I smelled some RiverClan, so I wandered over to see who and why that might be so," Coyotefur explained smoothly.

Dreamstar still glared at him. "Mm-hmm."

Bubblewing rolled her eyes. "At least now we can go straight in to talk to Cranestar," she meowed matter-of-factly.

Coyotefur smiled politely. "Yes. Step right this way." He turned and started off towards the WindClan camp. "And by the way," he meowed as they padded through the territory, "I'm very sorry to hear about Sapphirestar – Sapphirestone now, am I correct? I hope she's doing well."

"She's fine," Dreamstar growled.

"Boy," Ribbonpaw whispered to Bubblewing, "Dreamstar sure does hate this guy!"

Bubblewing giggled a little in response. "Yeah…and it's really annoying."

After a little while, the group of cats arrived at the WindClan camp. Coyotefur asked Dragonheart to get Cranestar, but soon the whole camp was crowded around the area, listening intently.

"Wow," mumbled Doubletooth. "The other Clans listened in discreetly – these cats aren't afraid to join in!"

Bubblewing shook her head, smiling. _No, he isn't…_

Dreamstar and Bubblewing launched into their story of Sapphirestone's injury, and what they discovered with the Twolegs and the strange animals. Cranestar was alarmed, but ready to help at any time.

* * *

The RiverClan cats stood and shook their pelts off. Bubblewing frowned; she didn't want to leave Coyotefur yet. He smiled and winked at her.

"I'll escort you out!" he offered excitedly. Dreamstar was about to protest, Bubblewing was sure, but he didn't want to be rude, and accepted.

Coyotefur and Bubblewing hung at the back of the group, both happy in the other's presence. As they walked, Coyotefur murmured, "Come out tonight."

Bubblewing was excited all over again. She nodded and swiped her tongue over his ear quickly.

* * *

Bubblewing lay awake that night, waiting until she knew every cat would be asleep. When she no longer heard whispers or movement outside, she got to her feet quietly and darted out of the camp. Even when she got to the forest, she tried her best not to make a sound.

"Bubblewing!"

Her head turned toward the source of the stifled call. Coyotefur sat, purring, at the base of a tree. Bubblewing ran over to him and purred with him. He swiped his tongue across her fur, and she buried her face in his velvety smooth chest fur.

"It's so hard not being able to see you," she meowed.

"I know. I miss you all the time…" He chuckled. "To think the first time we met was me saving you from…an eagle, was it?"

Bubblewing smiled. "The most charming young cat."

Coyotefur flopped onto his side, and Bubblewing rested her head on his stomach. They talked for quite a while. Then Coyotefur started feeling playful.

He flipped Bubblewing onto her back, pinning her down. She was confused at first, but was quickly amused. He licked her fur delicately, and she purred ever louder, twining her tail with his.

"I love you," they both murmured softly in unison.

A rustle of leaves, the crack of twigs. The two young cats' heads snapped to the direction of the sound. Two figures with familiar scents to Bubblewing loomed in the bushes. Her heart pounded loudly and harshly against her rib cage.

"Well. Bubblewing and young Coyotefur from WindClan." The voice was calm and yet angered. The other voice whimpered.

"B-Beartooth…Badgerface…" Bubblewing stammered.

"I suppose I don't have to ask," Beartooth meowed, stepping out from the shadows. Not that it made much of a difference in the dark cover of the trees. "Badgerface woke up and noticed you were gone, and asked me to help him look for you."

Coyotefur stepped off of Bubblewing. He looked at her apologetically.

"I'm afraid I'll have to make this…public in the morning, Bubblewing. You," he turned his attention to Coyotefur, "get out of here."

With another loving look at Bubblewing, the handsome tom dashed away.

"…Beartooth…" Bubblewing mewed. He didn't answer. Badgerface avoided her gaze, as well.

Her lip trembled. As of sunrise, her life was ruined.

* * *

**Gasp! :O Hope ya liked it, despite Bubblewing's life being ruined XD Thanks for reading, please review!**


	23. Chapter 21

_**Chapter 21**_

**Hoo boy this is a long chapter! ****:D I hope you like it! I got a big burst of inspiration as I was writing it. X3 THIS is dedicated to Vixenfur, Dragonheart, everyone back at the site, and all of you that have been reviewing and keeping with the story! (Like Vixenfur and Dragonheart! :D) But sorry it took so long to update! :( I didn't intend for the wait to be so long, but… Enjoy! ;)**

Bubblewing lay on her side, staring at nothing. Her stomach twisted nervously, and she felt nauseous. Soon, Beartooth would let everyone know about her and Coyotefur.

She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth. What was going to happen to her? And what about Coyotefur? Would they be kicked out of their Clans, out of the forest…?

"Bubblewing." A nervous voice caught her attention. She looked up to see Badgerface, shifting his weight from side to side, not meeting her gaze.

"…Yes?"

"Uhm…Beartooth…wants you…" he meowed. "He's…"

"Making the announcement now," Bubblewing finished for him, getting to her feet. Badgerface nodded and quickly turned around, leading her across the clearing. Cats were whispering and staring; they knew something was going on.

Beartooth was waiting by the entrance to the camp. "I've sent for Coyotefur and Cranestar to be brought here. Cranestar should know exactly what's going on, and this is for Coyotefur," he meowed sternly, fixing Bubblewing with a cold expression. Bubblewing matched it.

"What will happen to us?" she asked, trying her hardest to be apathetic, though she felt like crying.

Beartooth turned at the rustle of leaves. "We'll see."

Doubletooth led a shocked Cranestar and a shameful Coyotefur through the entrance. Coyotefur's gaze met Bubblewing, and he stopped for a moment. This was the first time Bubblewing had seen Coyotefur without his proud, brimming confidence. It made her feel worse; she kind of felt like she was the cause of this. He still walked with a good posture, though his head was low, and his tail drooped to the ground. He mouthed _'I'm sorry' _and followed Beartooth. Bubblewing stared at the ground for a moment before catching up with the others.

They gathered in front of Dreamstar's den. Everyone seemed hesitant to go in, even Beartooth, and Bubblewing wondered why. So, she shrugged mentally to herself and stepped through the opening.

"Dreamstar…?" she called. She stopped when she saw Dreamstar huddled in the corner. He looked distant, and scared. "Dreamstar," she called again, feeling a twinge of worry for her leader and friend.

He looked up suddenly, making Bubblewing jump. "Ah…" He stood a bit shakily. "What is it?"

She cleared her throat. "My, uh…my trial is starting, sir. Coyotefur and Cranestar have come as well."

Dreamstar's eyes clouded more. "Oh…right, yes…let's go…" He padded quietly past her, and Bubblewing let her tail drag as she followed. Her growing anxiety about her future made her overlook Dreamstar's strange behaviour.

The two leaders quietly discussed the situation, not wanting the other cats to hear. Bubblewing strained to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"…about it?" Cranestar was meowing.

"No…knew they liked each other…" Dreamstar replied; it was easy enough to fill in the blanks of the words Bubblewing missed.

After another few moments, the two cats came back to their group, and they all moved towards Stone Mound for the conference.

Dreamstar called for RiverClan to gather, though there was almost no need since a lot of the Clan had already huddled around to get in on the action. Some cats looked worried, some excited, and some just plain confused.

The RiverClan leader took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "…We're here today because of a problem with my deputy, Bubblewing…she and her…her _mate" – _he spat the word through grit teeth, his hatred for Coyotefur clearly growing – "were _discovered _last night in the forest." There were some gasps from the Clan. Bubblewing looked at her paws. "As we all know, mates between Clans are forbidden…" He stopped, not knowing how to continue. He didn't want to have to exile Bubblewing. She was like a daughter to him; he didn't want to end up losing her…but that was his duty as leader, he _had _to make the decision. He had to make _all _the decisions. His paws trembled, and he tried his best to steady them.

RiverClan waited expectantly. It was almost like it wasn't big news to them; the two warriors had shown affection for each other since they were apprentices many, many moons ago now. It was still a fresh memory in their minds of when Coyotefur had been the one to bring Bubblewing out of her slump when she had found out the truth about her parents. He had risked a lot with that, so it had been quite obvious for some cats.

Including Dreamstar.

The suspense drilled at all of the cats in the clearing; both Bubblewing and their leader were beloved cats to their Clan. While no one wanted to banish Bubblewing, it would be irresponsible of their leader and everyone else to just let it slip.

Bubblewing's heart was beating harshly against her ribs. She glanced at Coyotefur to find he was already watching her. She smiled a little, feeling tears welling up in her eyes; her only comforting thought then was that even if she were exiled…she would still have Coyotefur, right?

After a long moment of pure silence, Dreamstar finally opened his mouth to speak. _Too much…this is too much, _he was thinking, paws still trembling.

A shrill cry caught the crowd's attention, all alert and on their paws. No cat moved, though; they were all glancing at Dreamstar. But he was frozen, his eyes clouded and his legs shaking.

A new voice made the cats turn their heads, surprised. "Doubletooth, Ribbonpaw, Wreathpaw, Squirreltail, go find out what's wrong!" Bubblewing was on her feet, a fierce look in her eye.

She wasn't exiled yet – she was still RiverClan's deputy!

The other three cats hesitated a moment, not sure if they should take orders from her, but Ribbonpaw barked a, "Yes, ma'am!" and raced off without any doubts. As Bubblewing caught up with them, they decided to trust her.

They dashed out of the camp, wondering what could possibly be going wrong this time. They slowed when Ribbonpaw stopped in front of them, panting slightly.

Otterstream was trying to help Evergreenclaw get away from another new creature. She was bleeding badly from a long, deep wound to her shoulder. Otterstream was also bleeding, but mostly covered in the other she-cat's blood as she attempted to flee from the animal.

The mysterious beast was rather strange looking, or more so than the others. It had a flat looking face with beady eyes, and long, wide arms and legs to match its stretched-looking body. To top it all off, it had lengthy, sharp claws. It sat there lazily, though wary of its surroundings.

"Wreathpaw, Doubletooth, go help Otterstream and Evergreenclaw. We'll handle this…thing," Bubblewing instructed, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the thing. Wreathpaw and Doubletooth nodded and went to help their clanmates, while the other three closed in on the animal.

Squirreltail's fur bristled and Bubblewing bore her fangs in a ferocious hiss. It seemed to squirm. Ribbonpaw had managed to get around behind it, and crouched low in the grass as if he were hunting. Bubblewing nodded to him, and he leaped, claws unsheathed. He grabbed onto its back, forcing it to move more. Then Bubblewing and Squirreltail launched themselves towards their opponent. Squirreltail scratched furiously at its flank while Bubblewing bit down hard on its neck. It screeched and shook them off with surprising force. It ran away through the trees, making grunts of pain as the blood soaked through its fur.

When they were sure it was gone, they all raced over to Evergreenclaw.

But they were too late.

Otterstream, Wreathpaw and Doubletooth all hung their heads; Otterstream lifted her head and gave a loud yowl of sorrow.

After a long while, Squirreltail quietly meowed, "We really need to do something about these Twolegs and their animals…"

Bubblewing nodded in agreement. The forest couldn't afford to lose any more cats. She stood up and gave her fur a shake. "All right…we need to bring Evergreenclaw back to camp."

Together, the cats all hauled her limp body through the trees and back to the RiverClan camp in a solemn silence. When they reached their home, they gently let the deceased warrior down, a crowd slowly gathering around them. Sapphirestone and Vixenfur stood by Dreamstar, who was still shaking. Bubblewing padded over to them.

"…What happened?" Sapphirestone asked.

Bubblewing shook her head. "…Another strange creature from the Twoleg establishment…it killed her…there was a lot of blood, and we were too late…" she explained, her eyes watering.

Vixenfur stepped forward and rasped her tongue over Bubblewing's ear. "It's okay, Bubblewing…there wasn't anything you could do. She's with StarClan now."

"Yeah…" Bubblewing glanced up at Dreamstar, and gave the other two she-cats a questioning look. They both shrugged, looking worried.

Being as Dreamstar didn't seem up to it, Sapphirestone took over the duties of the burial ceremony.

* * *

The next morning, Bubblewing remembered her trial. She looked around; were Coyotefur and Cranestar still there? She wasn't sure. She was distracted by all the whispers about Dreamstar. About what might have happened to him, what was wrong…and even some about his capabilities as leader. Bubblewing pretended not to hear them as she padded toward his den.

"Dreamstar…?" she called into the darkness.

Vixenfur walked out, looking worried and nervous. "He's…saying strange things…" she whispered.

Bubblewing blinked. "Like what?"

As if on cue, the young leader poked his head into the daylight. His fur wasn't groomed properly, and his eyes were still distant.

"…I don't know if I can handle being leader," he meowed shakily.

* * *

**No, Dreamstar! You can't - ! :3 Well, you'll just have to review to find out what's wrong with him….Hope you appreciated the long chapter! :) Sorry they've been so short and scarce lately. :( I hope you'll review, thanks for reading! **


	24. Chapter 22

_**Chapter 22**_

"What do you mean…you _don't think you can handle it?_" Bubblewing repeated Dreamstar's words, horrified.

The RiverClan leader shook his head sadly, ashamed and embarrassed. "It's too much…too much pressure about…about, well, _everything. _As soon as a problem arises and the warriors can't take care of it, everyone automatically comes to _me,_" he explained, staring hard at his paws.

"But…that's what being a leader's all about," Bubblewing meowed nervously. "Making decisions for your Clan, _leading _them."

Dreamstar's paws trembled. "I know, all right!" he snapped, moisture clouding his vision. "But I'm just not cut out for being leader…"

"But…but you've been deputy for so long! You had to make decisions then, too—!" Bubblewing tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen.

"That's not the same! I still had someone to look up to, someone to tell me what to do so I wouldn't have to worry about making the wrong choices!" He shook his head miserably. "But now…there's no one to look up to. Only me."

"Are you saying that…you're _resigning?_" Vixenfur and Bubblewing swung their heads around to see Sapphirestone, fixing Dreamstar with an unreadable stare.

Pain was evident in Dreamstar's eyes. "I…I didn't…it…" he stammered, kneading the ground uneasily with his paws. Then he suddenly hung his head in defeat. "Yes," he whispered in a small voice.

Sapphirestone kept her gaze for a few more moments, and then turned away completely. "That's fine. I see I was wrong to choose you as my successor. Come quickly, then. Our new leader must be named." She started at a swift pace, and the two she-cats had to leap to catch up. Dreamstar stayed where he was, however, with his head bowed low, unmoving except for the tremble in his shoulders.

Looking back from the troubled leader, Bubblewing asked, "But who will be the new leader, Sapphirestone?"

Without so much as a glance back at the she-cat, she meowed, "You."

Bubblewing's heart seemed to stop. Her eyes widened, and her jaw fell open. "What? But—"

Before she could say anymore, Sapphirestone had hobbled up to Stone Mound, and RiverClan was suddenly listening attentively.

"It seems that our leader isn't strong enough to lead us," she started. Bubblewing thought she was being a little bit harsh on Dreamstar.

Seemingly reading her mind, Vixenfur stated sadly, "She's probably just bitter that she didn't choose the right cat that she trained so well to be deputy after all…"

"…And so," Sapphirestone continued, "let us name our new leader!" She turned to Bubblewing with a smile. "Bubblewing!"

There was hesitant pause.

"But…isn't she on trial?" one cat meowed.

"My opinion on this trial," Sapphirestone meowed pointedly, "is that it isn't so serious that they've had kits, am I right?"

Bubblewing's face heated up. She shook her head vigorously, and heard Coyotefur snort.

"More about this topic will be discussed at the next Gathering," Sapphirestone declared with finality. "But for now…our new leader!"

Instantly, Bubblewing heard Ribbonpaw give a cheer and chant, "Bubblestar! Bubblestar!"

She was frozen to the spot. She couldn't become leader…not without…

"Go," a deep voice meowed from behind her, and nudged her along, up to Stone Mound. She jumped up along with Dreamstar, who cleared his throat.

"I, Dreamstar, am resigning from my role as leader of RiverClan. I'm just…" He took in a shaky breath. "I'm just not meant for it." A yammer broke out among the Clan, but they were silenced with a flick of Sapphirestone's tail. "And so…I give back my nine lives to StarClan, and take back my name of Dreamfur." He looked at Bubblewing. "Please, let StarClan hear me…as I name RiverClan's new leader, my deputy…Bubblewing…who shall soon be known as Bubblestar."

Bubblewing felt moisture threatening to spill over her eyelids, but she blinked them back. She felt very uneasy about how the Clan would react.

There was another hesitant pause.

Ribbonpaw took in a big breath, and shouted, "BUBBLESTAR!"

This seemed to persuade the other cats into chanting her new name as well. They stopped, however, when they realized she wanted to speak.

"Uh-uhm…are you sure you want me as your leader?" she choked out, her voice cracking.

The cats exchanged looks, and some started nodding quickly. A few others joined in a few moments later, but a couple of the warriors stayed stone still, eyeing her disapprovingly.

She smiled at her Clan, touched. "…Thank you," she murmured.

"Then it is settled," Sapphirestone announced. She turned excitedly to Bubblewing, and after quickly rasping her tongue over the she-cat's fur, meowed, "You will make your journey to Moonpool tonight, all right? Receive your name and nine lives."

Bubblewing nodded. She also knew she had to start thinking about naming her deputy. She scanned the crowd of cats, but shook her head to clear her thoughts. Right now, her head was spinning with all that was going on; Dreamstar—Dream_fur_—resigning, her becoming leader, her own _trial…_ She thought she might faint, but she forced herself to stay on her feet. She had to get ready for her sudden trip to Moonpool…

* * *

Bubblewing stood at the entrance to the RiverClan camp, waiting for her traveling companions to meet her. She had chosen for Ribbonpaw, Mistyleaf and Sheepsong (Sheeppaw had recently become a warrior, along with Cloudpaw and Snowpaw) to come along with her to Moonpool.

The other cats of the Clan were gathering round as well. Some wished their new leader good luck, while others cast her scornful looks. Bubblewing was happy to note, however, that the majority of the Clan was on her side.

Finally, her three companions ran over to her, their eyes lit up. Mistyleaf was happy for her sister, Sheepsong was happy for her good friend, whom she had grown up with, and Ribbonpaw was delighted that his mentor and self-proclaimed mate was becoming leader.

"Ready?" Bubblewing asked, her heart pounding with excitement. The three cats nodded in response, and together they set off on the (rather long) journey to Moonpool.

* * *

They had been moving for a long time now. It was nearing sundown, and their paws were aching.

"Ohh…why does Moonpool have to be _so far away _from RiverClan?" Ribbonpaw moaned angrily.

Bubblewing shushed him tiredly. She felt too fatigued to actually say anything, and didn't want to waste her energy talking to him. Besides, she knew she had to feel grateful that they hadn't run into any trouble with the other Clans.

The sky was a dark, dark orange by the time they got close to Moonpool, and as they trekked up the hill the sky went black and the stars shone around them. When they reached the entrance to the cave, Bubblewing flicked her tail and the three cats behind her stopped.

"Wait here," she ordered. They nodded in unison, and she stepped into the cave.

It was dark in the cave, but the small pool resting in the middle of it seemed to glow, lighting the cave up while at the same time keeping it in darkness. It enchanted Bubblewing, and her heart pounded harder with every step she took on the way to the sacred water.

When she stood at its edge, she stared down into her reflection, at her dark grey fur, the sharp black lines cutting across her pelt, and her bright, yellow eyes…this was the image of RiverClan's leader, now and thousands of moons ago, when the Clans were first established…

Bubblewing slowly and gently lowered herself to the cold stone floor, and touched her nose tip to the cold water.

In an icy flash, everything around her changed. Her eyes fluttered open to a different cave, where nine cats sat around her in a circle. One handsome tom stood up—Riverstar. His eyes sparkled with excitement, as if his dreams were coming true. Slowly, all of the other cats rose as well. Some of them, she didn't recognize, which she thought was strange…

One cat stepped forward, and Bubblewing realized it was Gooseflight.

"Oh, Gooseflight!" she exclaimed. "Fisheyes was so devastated, but she's doing great now. And…I'd like to thank you. If not for you…I wouldn't have met Coyotefur."

Gooseflight smiled at her, and touched his nose to hers. Suddenly, it felt like her insides were rapidly moving in a circle, like a tornado had torn through her body. She didn't know what to do, but knew she was glad when it was over. Gooseflight sat down after giving Bubblewing her second life.

Another cat stood, and though she'd never met the cat, she knew instantly he was Coyotefur's brother. She was stunned, and couldn't find any words to say, so she didn't say anything. Wordlessly, he gave her third life. And when another tom that looked just like the one before, save a few differences, stood, Bubblewing's heart sank knowing that Coyotefur's beloved brothers were both dead. Another wordless life was passed into her.

The next cat to step forward was female, and Bubblewing's face broke into a smile when she recognized she-cat to be Grassfur, Ribbonpaw's former mentor.

"Don't worry, Grassfur," she meowed. "I'll take good care of Ribbonpaw. He'll be a great warrior." Grassfur's eyes were smiling as she touched her nose to Bubblewing's, and the strange sensation happened a fourth time.

Next, a cat that Bubblewing briefly mistook for Coyotefur padded towards her. But it wasn't Coyotefur; it was the cat whose master was Riverstar that was a direct descendant of Coyotefur's. Her beauty took Bubblewing's breath away, and the she-cat was soon sitting proudly again after doing her job.

Next, another cat Bubblewing didn't recognize at first—but as she stepped closer, her instinct told her the she-cat was Leopardstar, a RiverClan leader from long ago, when the Clans first moved their territory to their current lands. Her eyes were stern and almost cold, but they grew softer as she touched Bubblewing's nose and gave another life.

Evergreenclaw came next, and Bubblewing realized her eyes were stinging from seeing all of her dead Clanmates again, especially because she felt that she was responsible for two of the three deaths. She received another life as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Next, two cats that looked exactly like her—one was Riverstar, and the other, she realized after a moment of utter confusion, was herself. The Bubblewing duplicate stepped forward, and she realized that the twin was transparent, like a foggy hallucination. They smiled at each other, and the double reached forward and touched her nose. As the swirling sensation began again, Bubblewing thought she heard the twin mew, "Good luck…I'm very proud."

Finally, Riverstar stepped forward. He gave the final life, and then stepped back.

"I know you will make me proud, Bubblestar. StarClan has chosen you, created you, so that you could protect our Clan with your life, and I know you'll do just that. Can you handle being a leader?" he asked.

Bubblestar nodded confidently. "Yes," was her determined reply.

Riverstar smiled. "Good. I know you'll do well. Protect the Clan. Protect all of the Clans. Remember these words:

_A prophecy will be fulfilled after many moons_

_As chaos is let loose in the forest_

_That will test the bond of thunder, wind, shadow and river_

_And though quantity will fail_

_Quality will be proven and trained."_

Bubblestar swallowed hard as she quickly memorized the prophecy.

With a final encouraging smile, Riverstar faded and Bubblestar woke with a start by the edge of Moonpool. She stood quickly with protest from her limbs, and dashed out of the cave, where the three cats she'd brought along sat waiting. When they saw her, they all instantly perked up, and bowed.

"Bubblestar," Ribbonpaw breathed happily. "Now that's a leader's name."

Bubblestar let out a giggle as she padded towards her friends. "Well then," she meowed, "let's go back to camp!"

* * *

**Sorry if that was a little weak. :/ I know that all my stuff that happened in Moonpool wasn't right, but…I just mixed my imagination with what I remembered from when Firestar was made leader :P I hope you all liked it anyways. The next few chapters will be more interesting, I think, plan, and hope! X) Please review, thank you! OH, and PLEASE tell me WHO YOU THINK SHOULD BE DEPUTY! **

**A) Runningsky**

**B) Nightfur**

**C) Mistyleaf**

**D) Or even Sheepsong, maybe?**

**If you have another suggestion, please let me know! :)**


	25. Chapter 23

_**Chapter 23**_

**I'm so sorry for the wait, guys. I've been so out of it! I know it's been a while, but I hope you'll like the chapter. Please remember to review! **

Her paws were tingling beneath her, but for some strange reason Bubblestar didn't feel nervous as she stood on High Stone. RiverClan had gathered at its base, watching and listening intently. They were waiting for her to name her deputy.

She inhaled slowly. "The new deputy will be Runningsky."

Cats whooped and cheered for him as he clambered excitedly up to stand beside Bubblestar. She smiled at the way his eyes glittered; she knew she'd made the right decision. Runningsky would be a great deputy for the Clan.

The Clan chanted his name, and then eventually the crowd dispersed. Runningsky followed Bubblestar into her new den—the leader's den.

She sat and curled her tail around her paws. "It's weird, being in this den. I'm so used to having all the other warriors sleeping right beside me." She looked around. "It seems like a dream, living here. Being a leader."

"But it's not," Runningsky meowed. "You're really here. You're really leader…" He trailed off.

Bubblestar smirked. "And yes, _you're _really the deputy of RiverClan."

He smiled at her sheepishly. "Thank you. I promise I'll do you proud, and give it my all."

"I know you will. That's why I picked you."

* * *

Bubblestar's situation with Coyotefur was turning out to be a real problem. A couple cats hissed at her repeatedly, and were disgusted that she was leader.

"No leader of _mine _is going to be having an affair with some tom from another Clan," Specklefoot had spit one morning when ordered to go on dawn patrol. "I'm disgraced."

Bubblestar tried to apologize at first, but gave up when she realized that it wasn't helping and that it was stupid for her to be apologizing in the first place. She hadn't done anything wrong, right? It was in the prophecy that she and Coyotefur be together.

She couldn't _help _but fall in love with him!

It had been three days since she had become leader. She hadn't seen Coyotefur since their unfinished trial.

She sighed and lay back, wondering what they could possibly do… How could they keep their relationship going when it was public now? Especially now that she was leader. It seemed like the only solutions were leave the forest, move from WindClan to RiverClan or vice versa or…cut off ties with him. And she really didn't want to do that. She really didn't want to do _any _of those things.

She shoved her head in between her paws, her eyes stinging. "What should I do!" Her fur muffled her cry.

"Is that any way for a leader to be acting?" The familiar, wise voice made Bubblestar jump. She looked up quickly at Sapphirestone, feeling embarrassed.

"No," she mumbled, sighing again. She scrambled to her feet.

"Are you worried about your love?"

Not meeting the former leader's gaze, Bubblestar nodded.

"Don't worry."

Now Bubblestar's eyes swung around to see Turtlestorm, staring at her intently.

"Don't worry," she repeated. "It will all be sorted out after the big battle."

The RiverClan leader's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Turtlestorm cut her off.

"Don't ask what the big battle is. I'll only tell you that it's the prophecy of Riverstar coming true," Turtlestorm meowed.

Bubblestar closed her jaws and nodded. "Uh…can you tell me…if this big battle will be soon?"

Turtlestorm's eyes closed, and an ominous silence hung over the three cats. After what seemed like an eternity, the older warrior opened her eyes again, and Bubblestar let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

With a tight jaw, Turtlestorm nodded slightly and then turned and walked away swiftly. Bubblestar was left with a sick feeling in her stomach.

Sapphirestone stepped towards her. "It's painful being leader, isn't it?" Bubblestar nodded. "Things that were confusing before are even more confusing now. A terrible feeling, really."

Bubblestar frowned, wondering what she was getting at. _Is she trying to make me depressed?_

"But it feels right, doesn't it?"

The question surprised Bubblestar. She looked over at Sapphirestone, and nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

"You can't explain it, it just feels like it was meant to be," Sapphirestone continued, and Bubblestar nodded again. "Very few times did I feel truly nervous in my time as leader…" She looked dreamy as she reminisced. Bubblestar waited patiently for her to come back to the conversation. After a moment, she looked back at Bubblestar. "My advice for you is to trust your instincts. Do what you feel is right. And then everything will turn out okay."

"…Really?" Bubblestar asked in a small voice, feeling like a kit.

Sapphirestone's eyes glimmered as she smiled at the new leader. "Really."

Bubblestar inhaled and then exhaled deeply. "Thank you, Sapphirestone. I'll remember your advice."

Still smiling, the older cat flicked her tail over Bubblestar's ears affectionately before padding away. Bubblestar stared after her, touched.

_She really is a great cat…a great warrior, a great mentor, a great leader… _Excitement suddenly churned inside Bubblestar. _I hope I can live up to her as a leader! I want to be the best leader I can be…I'll discover the answer to Coyotefur's and my problem when the time is right. And I'll do it by listening to my instincts. _

Bubblestar looked up at the bright, clear sky, absorbing the warmth into her fur. She took in another deep breath, smelling the woods and flowers all around her. Then she turned around and trotted over to speak to Runningsky, feeling like her short talk with Sapphirestone had refreshed her.

* * *

Bubblestar decided to go hunting with the patrol. She wanted to go out and do something; she'd been in the camp for three full days getting used to life as a leader. Now she was stretching her nimble limbs and racing with her apprentice through the forest. Mistyleaf and Badgerface were also in the hunting patrol with them, and they all seemed to be hyped up.

It came to mind that Ribbonpaw should be a warrior soon…she'd have to give him a test shortly.

Not a single prey got away, and when they finally came back to camp they had an abundance of fresh-kill with them. Bubblestar was out of breath but she had loved being able to take all of her stress out on the prey, and she felt even better than she had earlier that day.

She was grateful for her bed in the leader's den as the sun started going down. She fell into a deep sleep with no dreams.

* * *

Bubblestar was startled awake, her fur standing on end and her hackles raised. A loud siren was wailing, loud, irritating beeps going off every few seconds. The first one had been the loudest, and she was sure the whole forest was awake.

As she stepped out into the camp, she realized that the alarm was coming from where the Twolegs had their own big, disgusting camp. The sound was loud even all the way over where the cats were, and Bubblestar didn't understand how the Twolegs could stand the noise when they were all so close to the big building.

Runningsky came dashing over to her, concern clouding his eyes.

"What could it possibly be?" he wondered aloud as the other cats crept out of their dens.

Bubblestar shook her head, a feeling of dread coming over her.

"I don't know, but it's definitely something bad." Her head snapped over to a group of apprentices—Flowertail's kits. "All of you, go and inform the other Clans about where the noise is coming from. Tell them to send their best warriors and apprentices to the river. Squirreltail, go with them." Ribbonpaw, Wreathpaw, Featherpaw and Squirreltail all nodded and ran to the entrance of the camp, only to skid to a stop when a big snake, one they had never seen before—in fact they didn't think snakes could get so big—slithered stealthily in. It made the fur on every cat's neck strand up, and it stopped in front of Lionfoot, raised its ugly head and bared two long, sharp fangs in a hiss. A bunch of cats tackled it, and Lionfoot mashed its head down, closing its mouth, and sunk his own fangs into its neck. It quickly stopped squirming.

Taking in a shaky breath, Bubblestar reformed her plan. "Scratch that, guys," she said to her four messengers. "Tell them to send _all _their warriors and apprentices to the river. I have a feeling this is going to end in a big battle."

She also had a feeling the prophecy was coming true.

* * *

**Again, sorry for the wait. I hope you all liked this chapter, or are least excited for the next chapter. :D Finally, the prophecy you've all been waiting for…and then the end of this entire story! GASP! Well anyways, please review! ^^**


	26. Chapter 24

_**Chapter 24**_

**All right, yes, I know! I haven't updated in a LONG while! That's because I was trying to finish up another fan fiction, and now I've decided I'll do that with this one too. The next update will most likely be soon; I'm trying to finish the two that are nearly done up so I can focus on a lot less and have less stress to update, and that would hopefully mean not so many one/two month update waits. …Like this one. XD Sorry about that! Please remember to review!**

Riverstar had led Bubblestar to the Twoleg camp in her dreams before she awoke to the sound of the siren. They had seen mysterious creatures of all shapes and sizes flooding out toward the cats' home.

"No," she'd breathed, not able to make her voice louder.

"This is the prophecy," Riverstar had murmured.

They turned to a group of cats, yowling commands and laughing maniacally.

"They're leading these animals to us," Bubblestar had gasped, horrified. "How could they do that—?"

But before Riverstar could give her an answer, the sirens blared and she had awoken.

* * *

Coyotefur trotted along the outskirts of the forest warily. The reek of the Twoleg's horrifying torture camp filled his nostrils and the ear-piercing yowl coming constantly out of it made his ears flick, as if they were trying to escape the sound. The unbearable wailing had frightened WindClan, and he was sure it had frightened the other three Clans as well. He looked over his shoulder, wondering if Bubblestar had been frightened by it and wanting to be able to comfort her. Then he snorted at himself, knowing she wouldn't so easily admit out loud to being afraid.

His ears pricked suddenly and a chill ran down his spine. He looked back over toward the Twoleg camp, opening his jaws and breathing in deeply. The smell from the place almost made him gag, but there was a scent in the air that brought back Coyotefur's memories of the brutal slaughtering of his family so many moons before. His eyes narrowed to slits as he recalled the events.

He unsheathed his claws and dug them into the earth beneath his paws angrily. He swore, if he ever saw those murderous cats again he would kill them. Coyotefur let out a hiss as the cruel cats' faces flashed through his mind.

_Are those cats coming here? _he thought to himself. _Are they at the Twoleg place? _

He flicked his tail in hesitation, staring out at the Twoleg camp. There was a flashing light along with the sirens that seemed ominous and disturbing. Like blood red stars. Then he bounded back into the forest.

* * *

On his way back to WindClan, he crashed into a RiverClan apprentice running at top speed through the trees. Their limbs tangled, they tumbled into the base of huge tree, grunting in pain. With a twitch of annoyance, Coyotefur gracefully yanked away from the apprentice.

"What're you doing?" he asked impatiently, forcing back a hiss.

The apprentice scrambled to his feet, his chest heaving as he panted heavily. He stared at Coyotefur, slightly confused.

"Are you the…phantom cat?" he asked dazedly.

Coyotefur blinked. The moonlight was shining on his pelt from a gap in the tree, making it seemingly sparkle with the help of how his fur was from the start. "No," he lied. "I'm Coyotefur. You're Bubblestar's apprentice, aren't you?"

The tom nodded, a glint in his eye. "I'm Ribbonpaw. I remember you now. How could I have mixed you up with the phantom cat?" He let out a _mrrow _of amusement. Coyotefur frowned, his ears flicking in irritation. What would the apprentice say if he found out that Coyotefur _was _the phantom cat?

"Well, what're you doing?" Coyotefur repeated his question.

Ribbonpaw's face turned dark and serious. "You can help me, actually. Bubblestar sent some cats out to the other Clans to tell them to bring all of their warriors and apprentices to the river. There's going to be a big battle."

Coyotefur turned serious as well, and nodded. They raced off together to WindClan.

* * *

They arrived in the WindClan camp to a group of warriors fighting off a strange looking, larger cat. It had no tail, and was grey and white with tufts of fur pointing out from its cheeks. It hissed and spat, and easily swatted away Dragonheart, who had leaped boldly up to the cat with her claws outstretched. Dragonheart quickly jumped to her feet again, hissing.

The larger cat's back was turned to Coyotefur and Ribbonpaw. Coyotefur looked at the apprentice and they both nodded, then silently crept forward. When they were close enough, Coyotefur leapt up onto the big cat's back and bit furiously into its neck. Ribbonpaw tore his claws across its hind legs, causing it to screech in pain and buckle to the ground.

Coyotefur felt his teeth sink into a vein, and the blood flowed out even faster. Slowly, the cat sank to the ground and died.

Coyotefur finally pulled his mouth away from its neck and spat out fur and blood. "Get all of the apprentices and warriors to the river—except for two, who can guard the camp! _Now!" _he hissed, and the cats sprang to action, confused but willing to follow the orders.

"Why?" Frozenheart called out.

"There's going to be a gruesome battle," Ribbonpaw meowed ominously. That was enough for the WindClan cats.

Coyotefur clenched his teeth together. _Please be all right, Bubblestar. _

* * *

Bubblestar led her warriors and apprentices over to the river, Runningsky beside her. Her heart was pounding faster with each pawstep. She knew the battle would be bloody, and not without lost lives. But hopefully they'd get rid of the creatures leaking in through the Twoleg camp and they could live peacefully again.

Finally they stood looking over at the flashing red lights of the terrible place and the wailing only got louder. It was deafening and frightening. But Bubblestar swallowed her fear. She had to lead her warriors with strength and courage.

The bushes rustled, and WindClan, followed by ShadowClan, stepped into the clearing. Ribbonpaw, Wreathpaw and Coyotefur dashed over to her.

"I was scared that ShadowClan wouldn't listen," Wreathpaw panted proudly, "but Darkstar is a very agreeable cat."

"I ran into Coyotefur on my way to WindClan," Ribbonpaw meowed, his own chest heaving, "and we went together. When we got there, a big funny cat was invading the camp. Coyotefur killed it. Then we all came down here." He gestured to WindClan, waiting patiently but nervously.

Finally, Featherpaw emerged from the trees with ThunderClan.

"So what's going on here?" Eaglestar demanded.

Bubblestar hopped up onto to a rock to elevate her and be heard and seen by all the cats. "The creatures are somehow being let loose from their cruel cages in the Twoleg camp over there." She flicked her tail over to it in indication. "And they are all coming to the forest to attack us."

A ripple of murmurs went through the crowd. Darkstar, Eaglestar and Cranestar had shouldered their way over to Bubblestar.

"Tonight," Bubblestar continued, casting her gaze around the clearing, "it would seem that all of them have been let loose." Her thoughts turned to the interrupted dream. "And it would seem that a group of cats is leading them to us."

She noticed Coyotefur's hackles raise suddenly. "What is it?" she asked him.

"I knew it," he spat, digging his claws into the earth beneath him. "I got a whiff of their scent earlier." When he looked up at Bubblestar, his gaze was intense. "I know who those cats are. They're the cats that murdered my family."

Cranestar swung her head to look at the warrior. Their eyes met. They were both clearly pained by a memory they shared. Other cats from WindClan had that look, too. "Are you sure?"

Coyotefur nodded. "I think they're coming here with this…this _army _of creatures to finish what they started."

The maniacal laughter from Bubblestar's dream sounded from the top of the hill going down to the Twoleg camp.

"So you figured it out, eh, Coyotepaw?" a female voice meowed, amused.

Coyotefur hissed violently, his eyes flooding with hate as he looked at the cats before him. He moved closer to them, pushing some Clan cats aside.

"_Vixenpelt!_" he shrieked, hissing again. His fur was standing on end and his claws were digging straight into the dirt he stood on. _"I'll kill you!" _He leapt forward suddenly, but Vixenpelt didn't move. She only flicked her tail and a big, ugly black tom barreled Coyotefur over.

Vixenpelt clicked her tongue. "Aw, Coyotepaw, are you still mad at me?" Coyotefur growled. Vixenpelt's face filled with mock sadness. "What? Why? I didn't do anything! Oh, unless killing your family counts, honest! I did nothing!"

Coyotefur's breaths were coming out in rasping growls. He struggled against the big tom's hold.

"You know you won't get away from him, Coyotepaw," another she-cat said, stepping out from the shadows.

"Chipmunkstripe's right, Coyotepaw, and you know it," Vixenpelt purred.

"I'm Coyotefur now," he told them, a low, threatening rumble tumbling out of his throat.

"Oh, did the little apprentice get made into a big, strong warrior?" Vixenpelt sounded like she was talking to a newborn kit. "I'm so proud! Aren't you so proud, Chipmunkstripe?"

Chipmunkstripe smiled sweetly and cruelly. "Of course I am. But Coyotepaw still has a nice ring to it," she meowed, giggling. Her giggle sent a cold shiver down Bubblestar's spine. "I think I'll stick with that."

Bubblestar's eyes widened. It was incredibly rude to continue calling a cat by their apprentice name even though you knew full well that the cat was a warrior.

She noticed the looming shadows slowly moving up the hill behind the group of terrorizing cats. Her stomach churned.

"Oh look, the full army has arrived!" Vixenpelt chirped. "Isn't that wonderful?" She was addressing the big tom holding Coyotefur down. He nodded silently.

"Well now, army," Chipmunkstripe purred, staring at the crowd, seeming to be looking into every single cat's eyes. "We've given these stupid Clan cats quite enough hints over the past moons."

"Many, many moons," Vixenpelt chimed in. "Starting with an eagle."

Bubblestar's heart almost stopped. The eagle that had killed Gooseflight, all those moons ago. The eagle that nearly killed Bubblestar. Coyotefur had saved her. That was their first meeting.

"Now they're ready for all of you to attack at once!" Chipmunkstripe meowed cheerfully.

"Not really, but oh well!" Vixenpelt giggled.

"Gooseflight died…because of you?" Bubblestar meowed, shaken but still loud enough to be heard.

Vixenpelt and Chipmunkstripe looked up at her at the same, then smiled, their eyes gleaming with hatred. "Yes," they mewed together.

Then the animals from behind them all charged at the Clans.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUH! And the battle begins! Who will win! Who will lose? Who will live? Who will die! Who are these strange and evil cats? Why do they want revenge! Will the prophecy be fulfilled? Will Coyotefur and Bubblestar finally be able to be together! What am I having for dinner? REVIEW TO FIND OUT! By the way I accidentally deleted chapter two. Hehe. Don't look for it. I thought I didn't have an original copy of it anymore and went through all the trouble to rename the chapters properly. Then I found the chapter and REALLY didn't feel like changing everything back. So it's gone. ;D REVIWE TO FIND OUT!**


	27. Chapter 25

_**Chapter 25**_

**So here's another chapter…updated slightly quicker than usual. ;D Bit short though. :l Sorry. I hope you like it…it might not be all that good…anyways, please remember to review! Thank you!**

Bubblestar's whole body tensed, and then she let out a loud yowl and the cats charged back at the oncoming animals. She jumped down off the rock she was perched on and dashed through the crowd of slashing claws and biting jaws to get to Coyotefur, who was still struggling against the massive, ugly tom who held him down.

Bubblestar crept up from behind and was about to jump on the tom when a twig snapped beneath her feet and he swung around, growling. Bubblestar bared her teeth in a defiant hiss back, and quickly slashed out. Her claws scraped his face and blood trickled down his cheek fur, but he was unfazed and snapped at her with his overly large, overly sharp teeth. She jumped back and then jumped forward again, kicking out with her back legs and then grabbing a hold of his thick neck and holding on, suffocating him.

His grip on Coyotefur loosened, and the WindClan warrior wiggled away from his grasp and turned back on him, hissing and spitting. His jaws clamped down on the tom's tail, making him howl in pain with what little breath he had left, and surprised Bubblestar by ripping it off entirely.

Blood leaking onto the packed dirt from the stump where the tom's tail had been, Bubblestar unwrapped herself from him and he collapsed, unconscious, with a deep thud. She could hear his weak, rasping breaths, notifying them that he was still alive.

Their eyes met, and they shared a short, silent conversation before nodding and running off to join the battle.

A large group of cats were teaming up against a large, grey dog with a pointed snout and a fierce, snarling face. It was more than twice the size of the cats, but with all of them together they were able to overwhelm it. Dragonheart from WindClan whispered a plan to Batwing, the ShadowClan deputy, and he nodded. A moment later they raced around the dog and attacked from the side and the back; seeing what they were doing, Dreamfur jumped up onto its shoulder and bit down with his teeth and sank his claws deep into its fur. All three cats' back claws dug into the dog's legs and eventually they buckled and it fell to the ground with a growl. The rest of the cats pounced on it and moments later it lay motionless.

Bubblestar, despite the overall situation, felt a small flutter of happiness at the willingness to work together and help each other the cats from all the Clans were showing as she passed by another group fending off two creatures similar to the ones that twisted Sapphirestone's paw. Except these ones were grey and, Bubblestar regarded with disgust, they had round, pink bottoms that they seemed to enjoy slapping when they screeched.

Bubblestar would have stopped to help the cats scattered around, but she knew that Vixenpelt and Chipmunkstripe were the ringleaders and if they were stopped, so would the other animals.

She scanned to crowd of blood and furious, screaming creatures—including the Clan cats—to find the two evil cats. With a small stroke of luck she saw the flash of copper as they tried to slink away from the battle. Bubblestar hissed fiercely and charged after them, blood pounding in her ears. She saw a shadow coming over her and realized with dread that a big creature had jumped over her in an attack. But before it could lay a paw on her, Runningsky intercepted it, pulling it to the ground headily. Bubblestar breathed a thanks and her friend winked back at her, smiling. "Anything for you. Now go on."

She nodded and charged off again. Before she even knew the RiverClan cat was there, Bubblestar had pounced onto Vixenpelt and pinned her to the ground. Chipmunkstripe wheeled around, startled.

"You little brat!" Vixenpelt growled, clawing at Bubblestar's legs, though she wouldn't budge.

"I know you can control these beasts," Bubblestar panted, glowering down at the vile cat beneath her. "Now put a stop to this nonsense."

Vixenpelt's mouth curved crookedly, dark humour glittering in her eyes. "What nonsense? I see no such thing."

A rumble erupted from Bubblestar's throat. "You know what I'm talking about."

"If you knew what it's like to love someone you know you can never be with," she mewed harshly, "then you'd realize that this"—she flicked her ears toward the battle—"is perfectly sensible."

Bubblestar's heart twisted. _I do know what that's like, _she wanted to say, but bit it back. "I don't think anything could make this look reasonable."

Vixenpelt let out a dry laugh. "Then you must not have a very open mind."

Bubblestar growled and then looked at Chipmunkstripe. "And you? What do you have to do with this?"

Chipmunkstripe's tail curled up in amusement. "I like bloodshed and battle. Others don't." She let out a laugh.

Bubblestar was confused. "I don't understand…weren't you both—"

"Clan cats? Yes. In WindClan," Vixenpelt replied.

Bubblestar's eyes widened, and she turned her head around to look at Coyotefur, whom she had temporarily forgotten about. He was being awfully quiet, and his eyes held hatred so strong she thought he might be able to kill a cat just by gazing at them.

"Coyotefur…" she began, but he cut her off.

"They were in WindClan. Vixenpelt was—"

A violent hiss stopped him, and he and Bubblestar whipped around to see what had happened. Wreathpaw was struggling to stand, her front shoulder bleeding heavily. Though she was injured, she had killed the ugly creature that had attacked her.

Suddenly, Vixenpelt let out a strange cry, and Chipmunkstripe soon joined in. Bubblestar's fur bristled as a new fear set in her stomach. Both she-cats were grinning maniacally. She could soon hear a new sound—a heavy thud that sounded like gigantic pawsteps.

And they _were _gigantic paws making the sound. Bubblestar let out a startled hiss as a huge mound of beige and brown fur appeared at the top of the hill. It was a giant cat, with thick, muscular legs, a large, tattered mane and an enormous muzzle with teeth larger and sharper than anything she'd ever seen. It opened its jaw wide and her fur ruffled with the force of the roar. When she looked into its eyes, she saw that it was angry—very angry.

"Do you like it?" Vixenpelt asked.

Chipmunkstripe added, "It's called a 'lion.'"

Forcing her voice to remain steady, Bubblestar called, "Lightpaw, take Chipmunkstripe, Vixenpelt and Wreathpaw back to the camp. Get Wreathpaw help and don't let those two out of your sight for a second." Coyotefur joined them. As they left, Chipmunkstripe turned around and shot Bubblestar a truly twisted, evil and amused look that sent a shiver down her spine. Vixenpelt cried out once more as they left the clearing, and the lion leapt at Bubblestar. She hissed and, on a whim, jumped back at it, claws unsheathed. She landed safely on its chest and dug her claws in, drawing blood. It shook around, and Bubblestar struggled to stay latched on, sinking her claws further into the lion.

Runningsky bounded over and hissed fiercely at it, spitting and baring his teeth. Narrowly dodging a huge paw slamming into him, he jumped onto the foot and then onto the lion's head. He brought a claw down into its eye, causing it to howl with pain. Runningsky bit into its ear and nearly tore the whole thing off. Instead, it lay hanging in its now bloodied mane.

The lion was even angrier now, but not as quick as before. Its movements were slow and slurred. It batted Bubblestar away heavily, and she landed on her back with a dull crash, but got right back up again. As it shook its head, Runningsky tangled himself into its mane so he wouldn't fall off.

She jumped up and raked her claws down its flank deeply, and the other cats seemed to register what was happening. Some stayed with the alien animals they were fighting, intent on killing the beasts, while the others flooded over to the lion and started attacking.

"Bubblestar!" She heard Runningsky calling her name, and looked up. "At the other end of the clearing, the hill is more of a cliff! If we can push the beast off it will surely die!"

She took a moment to register, and then she nodded. "To the cliff! Push it off!" she yelled to the other cats, and her deputy joined in. Soon enough, they were edging the behemoth cat towards the ledge. Blood pouring down its face blinded its one good eye, and it got even sloppier, making it easier to take it over to the cliff.

After a while of fighting and struggling that seemed to all blur together, the lion was close enough to push over the edge. Its back leg dropped off, and it quickly hopped back to solid ground, pushing its feet into the dirt for a better stance, making it harder to push off. It suddenly seemed to know what was going on and stared over them almost knowingly.

"You push, and I'll pull!" Runningsky screamed out. Bubblestar hesitated.

"How will you get down?" she asked.

"Don't worry about that!"

"No, I—"

"Just do it!" he demanded fiercely, piercing her with a gaze that seemed to automatically make her paws move. She heaved herself against its legs, and other cats did the same while Runningsky gripped its mane and dragged it backwards. With one final pull, the lion lost its balance and toppled backwards over the ledge. Bubblestar rushed over in a panic.

"Runningsky!" she shrieked. The RiverClan deputy was tangled in the fur of the lion's mane and couldn't get free. He'd known he wouldn't get free when he'd suggested his plan.

Runningsky looked back up at her with a sad smile, love and pain in his eyes.

"Goodbye," he meowed softly, his voice carrying up to her on the wind. And they hit the hard ground beneath them with a thud and a sickening crunch.

* * *

**LES GASP! NO! RUNNINGSKY!**

…**Nuff said, please review! What do you think!**


	28. Chapter 26

_**Chapter 26**_

**Well, well, here we are again with a fairly long chapter. :D Half written on my new Acer laptop. ;D So, what happens to Runningsky? Read on! :D Heheh.**

* * *

"NO! RUNNINGSKY!" Bubblestar shrieked, leaning over the edge as if she could reach out to him and bring him safely back up to her. Mistyleaf and Dragonheart rushed over to drag her away from the edge before she fell off as well. She let out gasping cries as moisture clouded her vision and ran down her face.

"Bubblestar, Bubblestar, shh," Mistyleaf cooed, running her tongue over her leader's ear comfortingly. "Calm down, sister, it'll be okay."  
"No it won't." Her voice cracked. "He's dead."

Mistyleaf opened her mouth, as if to protest, and then closed it, knowing that there was no way he could possibly have survived.

"Badgerface, Nightfur, follow me," Bubblestar ordered, standing and already trotting off. Confused, the two warriors ran after her. She ran across the ledge until it was more of a hill, and darted down it to the bottom until she reached the enormous body of the lion.

She stared at it for a moment, and then suddenly threw herself against it. The two toms with her gasped in surprise.

"Bubblestar!" Nightfur meowed in alarm. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Help me move it!" she ordered, ignoring the question. Nightfur and Badgerface exchanged an uneasy glance but obeyed the command.

When they finally rolled the lion over, it was still lying atop Runningsky, whose body rose and fell shakily and slowly.

"Runningsky!" Bubblestar meant for it to be a yell, but it came out in a cracked whisper. "Runningsky…"

Slowly, very slowly, his dull eyes slid over to her. She could hear his rasping breaths. She winced as if she could feel his pain.

"Runningsky…you'll live…" Her sentence hung in the air. She didn't know if it was a statement, a command, or a question.

His face cracked into a painful smile and a ghost of a laugh came from his mouth. It was then that Bubblestar noticed the blood slowly matting his fur. "Yoe…know…ayh…wo'n…" he slurred, his words mashing together. But Bubblestar understood: _You know I won't. _She let out an involuntary cry.

His paw twitched, as if he meant to move it toward her in comfort. But it was twisted at an odd angle and he couldn't move. "Dun…bay…sid…" _Don't be sad. _

His bright, determined face flashed through her mind, standing up straight with his tail flicking playfully. When he was a kit, an apprentice, a warrior… She'd known him her entire life. And now…

His chest rose, and then sank deeply. It didn't rise again. His eyes dulled further until there was no light left in them at all. He was utterly still and empty.

…He was gone.

Bubblestar wailed loudly and buried her face in his fur. He was still warm. He still smelled like Runningsky. A Runningsky covered with his own rusty scented blood.

Another loud wail, and then Nightfur pulled her away from the body. "Bubblestar!" he hissed. She didn't stop wailing. Growling, he jammed her tail into the ground with his paw roughly. She gasped suddenly and looked over at him, wide-eyed. "Bubblestar, you have to pull yourself together! You're the leader of a Clan! Come on!"

She stared at the ground, swimming in her sadness.

"Runningsky wouldn't want you to be sad," her adopted brother whispered into her ear, gentle now.

Tears clouded her vision again, but she nodded. She got up and raced up the hill, stumbling over herself. She would mourn for Runningsky privately later.

When she was standing at the front of the clearing again, she called, "Leaders, assemble some warriors to stay here and keep watch for any more creatures that may appear," she called. "All of the wounded and—and deceased can go back to your camps. I have taken the ringleaders of the operation back to RiverClan. They will be questioned there. Leaders, feel free to join the interrogation when things are settled in your own Clans." With a swish of her tail, she turned and raced back to the RiverClan camp, releasing a few select sobs for Runningsky. She collected herself before she arrived back in her camp, with her back straight and her eyes unreadable.

"Bubblestar," Vixenpelt greeted slyly, a glint in her eye that the RiverClan leader didn't trust.

"Vixenpelt." Her voice wasn't a hiss, but it dripped with vicious, poison acid. She batted a sheathed paw across the side of Vixenpelt's face. The other she-cat looked back up in surprise. "My friend is dead because of you. Explain yourself. _Now." _

Vixenpelt's eyes flicked to Chipmunkstripe, who sat silently close by. Then she returned her gaze to Bubblestar. "Is Vixenfur here?"

Bubblestar hid her surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but Vixenfur had emerged from the nursery. "You monster," she growled.

Vixenpelt's tail curled. "Hello, dear sister!" she purred.

Bubblestar's eyes widened so much she must've looked like a bug. Her head swung around to face Vixenfur, who was watching Vixenpelt in disgust. "What…Vixenfur?"

Vixenfur hissed, a low, threatening sound. "How dare you show your face around here again. Why are you here?"

Vixenpelt's mouth curved into a lopsided smile. "Would you believe it's because I missed you?"

"No."

"Good, because that isn't why I came back."

Vixenfur's lips curled back into a vicious snarl. "Stop fooling around, Vixenpelt, and _explain yourself!_" she hissed.

Vixenpelt's tail twitched. "I think you know why I'm here, dear sister."

"I am _not _your sister, monster."

"And I am not a monster, so stop calling me that," Vixenpelt spat back.

"_Stop fooling around."_

Vixenpelt stood up suddenly, a severity in her eyes that wasn't there before. "Stop telling me what to do. You never change." A growl escaped her throat. "And neither will I. I'll always be 'fooling around', as you call it. But to me, it isn't fooling around. To me, it's serious work."

"You're right. It _is _serious. Because you decided you wanted all the Clans to pull together for your own selfish reasons, because you wanted to be with me and Vixenheart all the time!" Vixenfur's voice had been steadily rising, and when she ended her sentence, it seemed all the more eerily quiet. The silence seemed to weigh down Bubblestar's pelt like cold water.

"How dare you bring her into this." Vixenpelt broke the silence in a deathly tone.

"Why shouldn't I?" Vixenfur's tail swished in anger. "It's your fault she died, not mine."

Vixenpelt screamed ferociously and leapt at Vixenfur with unsheathed claws. Bubblestar sprang up and made to help her Clanmate, but Chipmunkstripe barrelled into her. Bubblestar struggled against her, desperate to make sure Vixenfur was all right. Chipmunkstripe pressed her paw hard against Bubblestar's neck; she could feel herself quickly losing air. Suddenly all of the weight was lifted off of her, and she gasped hungrily to fill her lungs. When she was on her feet again she swung her head around to see Coyotefur pinning a snarling Chipmunkstripe to the ground.

Coyotefur looked nothing like himself. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his eyes were narrowed and deathly. Hate seemed to seep from his pelt, and it sent a shiver down Bubblestar's spine.

A yowl brought her attention back to the two quarrelling she-cats. Their red pelts looked identical, the only difference being Vixenfur's black paws. Bubblestar sank her front claws into Vixenpelt's shoulders and dragged her backwards, off of Vixenfur, who put in another slash with her hinds paws to Vixenpelt's flank.

Bubblestar threw Vixenpelt to the ground roughly. "Calm down!" she hissed. "And explain yourself."

Vixenpelt sucked in a shaky breath and breathed out slowly, calming herself. When she spoke, her whiskers still quivered with anger. Whatever the story, she felt very strongly about it. "It's none of your business."

A wave of anger washed over Bubblestar. She held out a paw and slashed it across the copper she-cat's shoulder. "When you interfere with life in my Clan, and _kill _my beloved deputy," she growled menacingly, "it is _very much _my business."

Vixenpelt glowered up at her with resentment. "Vixenheart was my sister."

"Our sister," Vixenfur put in.

Bubblestar frowned. All three of them were named 'Vixen'? And hadn't Vixenpelt said she was from WindClan?

"Vixenheart lived in ShadowClan. I lived in WindClan, and, obviously, Vixenfur lived in RiverClan," Vixenpelt began.

"I still do live in RiverClan."

Again, Vixenpelt ignored her sister. She lowered her voice, glancing around the camp. "Not many cats know this—our mother was a medicine cat. Obviously she wasn't supposed to have kits. But as StarClan would have it, she died giving birth to us and our father was killed in a battle with some foxes."

Bubblestar's brain was working hard, trying to digest all of this new information. "How—wouldn't the other cats notice a medicine cat dying after giving birth?"

Vixenpelt shrugged. "The RiverClan leader at the time—Sapphirestone was his deputy then—said she had been killed by the foxes as well. Her body was buried before some cat could see how she'd actually died." She shook her head slowly. "Not a proper burial."

"There was a vigil held," Vixenfur added. "Only...without her body. They said the foxes took it."

Bubblestar felt a lump form in her throat. She could only imagine how horrible that must have felt.

"To make it less suspicious, our mother's apprentice and the leader sent the three of us to different Clans. And they named us all Vixenkit in remembrance of the foxes that killed our father and gave an excuse for the death of our mother."

A silence hung in the air. Vixenfur was staring fixedly at the ground, with wide eyes. She had never mentioned anything of her heritage. Then again, with a history like that, why would she have? Bubblestar suddenly wondered what the ginger she-cat had been thinking when _she _had given birth.

Bubblestar cleared her throat and shook her head to clear away all of the questions that had accumulated in her mind. She meowed, "Go on. Where does you terrorizing the forest come in?"

Vixenpelt tilted her head to the side with a crooked smile. "Well, now, that's the interesting part, isn't it?"

* * *

**The interesting part indeed. :3 Please review, and that interesting part will be revealed sooner. ;D What do you think of Vixenfur's heritage so far? Drop a review telling me what you think. ;D Thanks for reading.**


	29. Chapter 27

_**Chapter 27**_

**Hello again. ;) Well now, here's the interesting part! :D Please remember to review! **

* * *

"No games, Vixenpelt," Bubblestar growled, leaning closer to her threateningly.

She sneered. "Let me finish, why don't you?"

Her eyes narrowed, Bubblestar leaned back again.

"I desperately wanted the three of us to be together. With me in WindClan, Vixenheart in ShadowClan and Vixenfur in RiverClan, we never got to see each other. And it was so lonely." There was a yearning in Vixenpelt's eyes as she continued her story. Vixenfur's eyes were glazed over. "So I..." Vixenpelt paused and exhaled deeply. "I came up with a plan."

Vixenfur's features pulled into a sharp frown and her eyes dragged up to look at Vixenpelt with resentment. "A mouse-brained plan!" she snapped.

Vixenpelt's tail twitched, but she didn't acknowledge Vixenfur. "I wanted ... I wanted to bring all of the Clans together so that every cat could be together."

Bubblestar's eyes widened in surprise.

"I know what you're thinking," Vixenpelt spat angrily. "'How stupid is she?' You don't know what it's like to be the odd one out in your Clan, with cats that you _could _fit in with so close at hand and—and yet so far away!"

A pang shot through Bubblestar's chest and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. She _did _know what it felt like. She knew exactly what it felt like. But she'd never thought of going to those extremes to get what she wanted...

"I do," she mewed weakly, her voice cracking. "I know how it feels. But I ... I would never concoct a plan like that, it's—absurd!"

Vixenpelt fixed her with a piercing, unreadable gaze. "Really?" she asked after a long moment. "Has it really never crossed her mind that if the Clans were one you could be with whoever you wanted whenever you wanted?"

Bubblestar's jaws parted, but no sound came out. Had she thought of that? It would be easier, she had to admit. There would be no problem with her and Coyotefur being together. She glanced sideways at the striking tom holding Chipmunkstripe down. He seemed to feel her gaze, and looked up to meet it. Her heart swelled and she looked away.

"It has crossed my mind," she admitted, her voice clear and level. "But it's just one of those fleeting things that you know can never happen."

Shoulders shaking, Vixenfur snapped suddenly, "Get on with the story, Vixenpelt!"

Vixenpelt turned slowly to look coolly at her sister. "I was a young and naive warrior. I thought I could do anything—who hasn't at some point? So I approached my leader about it and asked if she ever considered joining with the other Clans to make one big Clan. She was appalled at the thought, saying 'there's four Clans, and that's that,' not thinking twice about it." Hate boiled in the ginger she-cat's eyes. "I wasn't about to give up, though. In fact, I had more reason than ever to want the Clans to join together. I'd fallen in love. With a warrior from RiverClan."

Bubblestar held back an exclamation of surprise. "Who—"

"Dreamfur. He wasn't deputy yet. Just a young warrior, like myself. He was so nice to me, and I wasn't even part of his Clan. At Gatherings he could make me laugh and awed me with his courage and confidence." Her eyes shone with affection. "I wanted him so badly, almost as badly as I wanted to be together with my sisters. So I went to Hornetstar, the leader of ShadowClan at the time, and told him that WindClan wanted to join with ShadowClan, RiverClan and ThunderClan."

Bubblestar was speechless; her jaw hung open slightly as she listened to the story.

"When I was on a patrol around the RiverClan border, we ran into a hunting patrol. I causally put in that WindClan wanted to join with them and the other Clans; they were also stunned and quickly made an excuse to rush back to camp.

"By the next Gathering, ThunderClan had found out about it too. It was brought up, and my leader was furious. She said she had no such plans, and this produced hostility. When the Gathering was over I was sent to do all of the apprentice's dirty work; it took all night and almost all of the next day for Cranestar to gather herself again and contain her anger enough to speak to me." Something flashed in Vixenpelt's eyes, and Bubblestar suspected it was fear as she recalled the scene. "She asked why I did it and I said I wanted to be with my sisters and with Dreamfur." Vixenpelt swallowed hard. "She went stiff and fixed me with a stare that I shan't soon forget. She took a deep breath and told me to leave her."

"Cranestar was very quiet and irritable in the days that followed that," Coyotefur jumped in suddenly, making Bubblestar jump. "I was only a kit, almost an apprentice, and old enough to remember something like that." He sighed, his eyes shining suddenly. "My littermates and I knew to stay away from her as not to bother her and push back our apprenticing. Although she did make us apprentices only a few days before—before the battle."

Bubblestar's ears pricked in alarm. "Battle...?"

"The hostility of the lie caused the other Clans to attack—not that we didn't have anything to do with it, we were hostile too. In that battle, I tried to speak with Vixenfur and Vixenheart, taking them aside, to apologize. They didn't know what to say..."

Vixenfur suddenly let out what sounded like an attempted growl but came out as more of a whimper. She tried to say something but only a squeak ripped from her throat and then she choked and had to stop. Bubblestar could plainly see the effect on both of the she-cats.

"A warrior jumped on me when we trying to talk, and I threw him off and started fighting him. Vixenheart urged me to stop and set things straight but I ignored her." She chuckled dryly and without amusement; it was a dark and dangerous sound. "She tried to step in physically and tell me I was battling a cat from RiverClan, our sister's Clan. I pushed her away, and the warrior took the chance to slash at her neck." She found she was suddenly shaking, and had to lie down in a failed attempt to steady herself. "There was so much blood," she choked out. "And she died. Right there in front of my eyes. Because of me."

Vixenfur let out another whimper.

"So I lost it and tore that RiverClan's warrior throat apart as viciously as I could..."

"The rest was all a blur," Vixenfur meowed suddenly. "The next thing I knew, and Vixenpelt knew...it was morning and the war was over. It was clear why the battle had started."

"I was exiled," Vixenpelt meowed coldly, the menace back in her and the vulnerability dispersed. "Around the outskirts of the forest I met Chipmunkstripe, who had also recently been exiled for the murder of three cats."

Bubblestar involuntarily swung her head around to face the other she-cat in alarm. Chipmunkstripe smiled back wickedly. "I was too crazy for them."

"So—so why attack the forest?" Bubblestar managed, looking away from Chipmunkstripe.

"I came back for revenge on Barkfang and his family. They were urging Cranestar to throw me out, all disgusted that I had done what I had, and then ended up killing my sister. And I did get my revenge." She smiled crookedly at Coyotefur. "Right, Coyotepaw?"

He snarled, hatred flaring in his eyes. "You are a heartless beast."

"Why come back _now?_" Bubblestar insisted.

"We got captured by Twolegs and were thrown into this place that they call a 'zoo'. They captured hundreds of other animals and showcased them all off. Then they moved to a new location—here." Something made her eyes bright with darkness. "And I thought it was perfect. I could tell all these stupid animals that they could be free if they did one thing for me. So I found ways out and animals slowly started to escape—and then tonight the hole was big enough for all of the animals and we made our move. To finish the job."

"And you failed," Bubblestar sneered, unease bubbling in her stomach.

The bright darkness sparkled in her eyes. "Did I?" she whispered.

Bubblestar's heart moved like a rock. Everything seemed to be moving suddenly in slow-motion. Vixenpelt let out a piercing whistle and kicked Bubblestar off. Chipmunkstripe slashed at Coyotefur and leapt away from him. Something rustled in the trees around the camp and a large white blur tore through the barriers protecting it. It let out a roar, swinging its head around. Its black nose stood out from its white fur, and it was as big as the lion. Bubblestar's stomach sank to her paws and her breath caught in her throat.

Then she jumped to her feet and ran right at it as time seemed to speed up and everything turned into a crash of blurs—she was yelling at all the cats quickly swelling into the camp as she charged the animal—they were following closely behind her—they were listening to her guidance—

The next thing Bubblestar knew, she was slowly opening her eyes to sunlight filtering in through the medicine cat's den. She scanned the area, and then moved her head and tried to climb to her feet. A sharp pain shot through her and she collapsed again with a grunt.

"I didn't say you could move yet." Honeyclaw's voice rang through her den.

"What...what happened?" Bubblestar asked, panic setting in.

"You hissed and spat and clawed and bit at that thing Vixenpelt called a bear until it clawed right back. You lost one of your lives and have been unconscious for three days," Honeyclaw explained.

The RiverClan leader's heart began beating faster and faster. "Three... What happened after that, is the camp okay, is the Clan okay, and what about Vixenpelt and Chipmunkstripe and that bear thing? What's—"

"Calm down," Honeyclaw hissed. "The camp was left a little broken and damaged but we're working it on it. S—" She paused and swallowed. "Some cats died."

Bubblestar's eyes widened in horror. "What? Who—?"

Sadness shadowed the medicine cat's eyes. "Specklefoot, Otterstream, and Doubletooth. And Ribbonpaw's ear was torn off, but he'll be okay."

Despair washed over Bubblestar. "I missed their burials...?"

"Lots of cats did. Almost everyone was injured or unconscious from both of the battles. Don't feel bad." Honeyclaw's tail-tip touched Bubblestar's shoulder. "You did everything you could to fight that bear. It was noticeably more tired when you were finished with it."

"Thank you," she muttered bleakly.

"I'll get you something for the pain. By tomorrow you should be able to walk around."

* * *

And she was. As soon as she woke up, Bubblestar got to her feet and ignored the pain. It was definitely less prominent now. She pushed out of the den and squinted when the sunlight hit her eyes. She looked around. Holes in the barrier were patched up and the apprentice's den had apparently been caved in. Some cats were around it, helping to fix it up again.

Everywhere, cats were limping or licking a wound. It made Bubblestar's stomach twist.

"Bubblestar!" She whipped around to see Ribbonpaw racing toward her, delight shining in his eyes. "Bubblestar, you're okay now!"

Cold claws tore at her heart when she saw the stump on the left side of her apprentice's head. She pushed her head into his flank and murmured, "I'm so sorry..."

Ribbonpaw ran his tongue over her ear. "What should you be sorry for?"

"I let this happen to you..."

"What are you talking about?" Ribbonpaw was genuinely bewildered. "You lunged right for the bear while we all stood and watched in shock. Then you yelled and stuff and we all jumped into action. It was great."

"You lost your ear," Bubblestar mewed.

"Yes," Ribbonpaw meowed, "and?"

Bubblestar raised her head and pressed her muzzle into his. "You're going to be a great warrior, Ribbonpaw. And I'll get on that as soon as all this has been cleared up."

Her apprentice's eyes lit up and his tail swished excitedly. He dipped his head and then ran off to help clean up. She studied him as he raced away. He was a fully grown cat now, not the small kit he'd been so many moons ago. Although it felt like it was just yesterday, Bubblestar thought fondly as she watched him work. _He'll be a great warrior. _

"Bubblestar, are you sure you're all right?" Dreamfur spoke now, approaching her cautiously. She was glad to see that his straight posture had returned and he was once again holding his head high. She smiled tiredly at him. "I'm fine, don't worry. You're all right?" When he nodded, she was suddenly reminded of Runningsky. Nausea immediately roiled in her stomach. "Is Runningsky—"

"Runningsky was given a proper burial. There's no need to worry," Dreamfur informed her with sympathy in his eyes.

Bubblestar looked down at her paws, her tail drooping lifelessly. "And I wasn't there."

"Don't be ridiculous—"

"I wasn't at my closest friend's burial. My _deputy's _burial. I missed it."

"There was no way you could have been there, Bubblestar, you were unconscious for three days." Dreamfur licked her ear reassuringly. "I know he's not mad. And you know it too."

"I should have been there," she reiterated, shaking her head.

"Oh, shut up," Nightfur cut in suddenly, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "Stop with your whining. Runningsky could never really be mad at you, and he certainly wouldn't be for missing his burial because you protected your Clan, and his."

Bubblestar exhaled deeply, grateful for adopted brother's support. She brushed his shoulder with her tail affectionately. "Thank you, both of you." The two toms smiled back at her.

Bubblestar spotted Turtlestorm and padded over to her quickly. "Turtlestorm," she greeted, dipping her head.

"Bubblestar," the older cat responded. "I'm glad to see you're okay." Her eyes shone. "And that you've fulfilled the prophecy."

Bubblestar swallowed. "I did?"

Turtlestorm nodded. "And you did it well. You saved the forest from complete destruction."

Bubblestar looked up suddenly. "Where are Vixenpelt and Chipmunkstripe?"

She shook her head. "They both died. Chipmunkstripe picked too many battles at once. Vixenpelt was trampled by the bear."

Bubblestar was silent for a few heartbeats. "What happened after I passed out?"

"Basically, you had given your orders and everyone was following them. But Coyotefur really stepped up. He somehow managed to fight and bring the injured to the sidelines and lead cats when they got confused. It was amazing, really."

Her heart swelled with affection for the silvery tom. "He is," she murmured. A breeze rustled her fur. "Everything happened too quickly..."

"Sometimes," Turtlestorm meowed softly, "that is the way things are supposed to be."

* * *

**Was it okay? Was it cheating to skip over that least scene? I thought it was kinda cool. :P Lol I hope you liked it. ;) Please review!**


	30. Chapter 28

_**Chapter 28**_

**Heylo thar! Here's another chapter! Sorry it took some extra time, I had a book report. ;) Enjoy.**

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The forest had calmed down after a few days of mourning, repairing, and healing. And the RiverClan camp was patched up and functioning the way it was supposed to again. One could almost believe nothing tragic had stricken the poor cats of the forest.

Bubblestar scanned her camp with affection. Nothing was broken anymore, and cats were out hunting, or lazing around and sharing tongues.

She jumped up onto Stone Mound. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around Stone Mound!" she yowled.

RiverClan trickled in around their leader excitedly. When the cats were all there and the yammer had died down, Bubblestar spoke again.

"Let Ribbonpaw, Featherpaw and Wreathpaw come forward," she meowed, loud and steady. The three apprentices stepped to the front, their big eyes shining. "Wreathpaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code?" she asked.

Wreathpaw nodded. "I do."

"Then from now on, you shall be known as Wreathberry." She laid her muzzle down on Wreathberry's head as the Clan chanted her name.

When Wreathberry had jumped down off of Stone Mound, Bubblestar called Featherpaw forward. "Featherpaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code?"

"I do," Featherpaw replied, dipping her head.

"Then you shall now be known as Feathersong."

When the Clan was done chanting her name, Feathersong clambered down off Stone Mound and went over to Nightfur, who swiped his tongue over her ear proudly.

"Next," Bubblestar meowed, "is Ribbonpaw."

Ribbonpaw was in front of his leader in a second, his eyes shining and his ears constantly twitching with excitement.

"Do you promise to follow the warrior code?" Bubblestar asked, looking proudly down on her apprentice.

"Yes!" Ribbonpaw near shouted back. "I mean, I do."

"Then from now on," Bubblestar announced, her heart swelling, "you shall be known as Ribbonflame."

She rested her muzzle on the new warriors head, hearing the chanting. "Ribbonflame! Ribbonflame! Ribbonflame!"

"Thank you," Ribbonflame whispered.

"No," she whispered back, "thank you."

She straightened up again. "Tonight our new warriors will keep a silent vigil." Her head swivelled over to Vixenfur. "Dogkit, Moosekit, Eclipsekit and Deerkit, please come to Stone Mound."

Vixenfur's four kits scrambled to be beside the leader and the ceremony commenced. Dogpaw's mentor was Mousepelt, Moosepaw's mentor was Squirreltail, Eclipsepaw's mentor was Skyfoot, and Deerpaw's mentor was Badgerface.

Just as Bubblestar was going to bring the ceremony to a close and send all of the cats back to their duties, Turtlestorm called out, "Who is your new deputy?"

She froze, her heart skipping a beat. She tried to speak but choked on the words until finally she managed, "Honestly, I haven't thought of that."

"You must choose a new deputy," another warrior urged.

Bubblestar swallowed hard, her mind reeling. She _did _have to pick a new deputy...but who? She lifted her head and scanned the crowd.

After a long moment , she took a deep breath. She couldn't keep her Clan waiting on this. She should have chosen her new deputy days ago.

"Nightfur," she announced at last. "Nightfur will be the new deputy of RiverClan."

A ripple of shock went through the black warrior. "You want..._me?_" he asked incredulously.

Bubblestar nodded with an amused look on her face. "You can get everyone motivated, and people will listen to you when you give orders. But when you get confused, please go to Mistyleaf for advice. And I'm sure you will get confused."

A _mrrow_ of laughter went through the crowd, and Mistyleaf flicked her tail playfully at her brother. Nightfur raised his head again, his eyes shining and confident. "Right then," he meowed, determined. "I'll do it."

Bubblestar smiled. She knew she'd have fun with her brother beside her, and with their sister close behind, as well as run the Clan well.

The leader hopped down from Stone Mound. "Well...back to your duties, everyone! Nightfur will assign all the patrols." She winked at her new deputy, then padded off to her den.

* * *

In the comfort of her own company, Bubblestar lay down to think. Now that the main problems of the Clan had been solved, the biggest one remained, the most important one that needed to be addressed as soon as possible—what was she going to do about Coyotefur? She obviously couldn't abandon her Clan, so that ruled out running away and converting to WindClan. But she couldn't ask him to come and live with RiverClan, to leave everything he had for her...

Accidentally, she fell asleep as she brooded.

* * *

Her eyes shot open and she leapt up, feeling embarrassed. She had only meant to rest and think for a little while, but how long had she been asleep?

Then she took in her surroundings. She was in the old RiverClan.

"Riverstar?" she called out.

The grey tom came out of his den with a glow in his eyes. The she-cat identical to Coyotefur followed, also looking pleased.

"You did it!" he cried in glee, pressing his muzzle against her flank with a purr. "You fulfilled the prophecy."

"Yeah," she murmured, embarrassed but happy at the original RiverClan leader's praise.

"Thank you so much," he purred, his sparkling eyes looking deeply into hers. "I knew I could count on you, Bubblestar. You did it perfectly."

Silvertail nodded behind him, a smile in her wise eyes. "You did it better than even he could have," she mewed, jerking her head towards her master.

He whipped around on her, looking hurt. "Hey!"

She smiled at him, and their tails twined together. The gesture brought a wave of despair crashing over Bubblestar.

"But I still have one more problem, Riverstar and Silvertail," she meowed, a hint of desperation in her voice. "I love Coyotefur so much. I want to be with him all the time. But I can't leave my Clan, and I can't ask him to leave his. What should I do?"

A knowing look passed over the deceased tom's face. "Don't worry. The bloodline will once again be pure soon enough."

Bubblestar blinked, her mouth opening slightly. "Wh—what does that mean!" she asked, feeling a lump form in her throat. She looked over to Silvertail. "Will you give me a straight answer?"

A chuckle came from the she-cat's throat. "Unfortunately, I cannot. It will all be clear soon enough. Things will again be set straight."

Just as Bubblestar was about to yowl for a better answer, the scene fell away into darkness and she found herself awake in her own den. With a sigh, she dropped her head heavily onto her paws.

* * *

It warmed Bubblestar's heart to see the new apprentices training so hard. She was watching on as Eclipsepaw and Moosepaw trained with their mentors together with Dreamfur and Vixenfur.

"Honestly, I was a little worried they wouldn't be able to focus," she meowed, "being Dreamfur's kits. But they seem to have taken on Vixenfur's concentration."

Dreamfur moaned in protest and cuffed her ear as Vixenfur laughed. "You two haven't changed since Bubblestar was an apprentice and Dreamfur was her mentor."

Dreamfur and Bubblestar exchanged a fond look. Dreamfur had been the best mentor ever, she thought. He had gotten over his depression about his failure as leader and was back to normal. He had made sure to let Bubblestar know he had no desire to be deputy again.

"They're going to be fabulous warriors," Bubblestar meowed.

Dreamfur's eyes shone proudly and he ran his tongue over Vixenfur's ear. "I know."

Feathersong came over to Bubblestar, looking strained and slightly confused, as if she weren't sure if she should be running or walking calmly. The leader said goodbye to her friends and followed the young warrior. "What is it?" she asked.

"Uhm..." Feathersong glanced over her should to look at Bubblestar. "I don't know whether to call him an intruder or not."

Before she could question that, they reached the camp entrance and she understood immediately.

Coyotefur stood, waiting, his silver pelt glistening in the sunlight. Two warriors were stationed cautiously by his sides to make sure he didn't try anything.

"Coyotefur," Bubblestar meowed, keeping her voice even. She swallowed hard as she flicked her tail toward the camp. "Please, come in..."

He took a tentative step forward. "Uhm, there's something I need to talk to you about, Bubblestar..."

* * *

**Well, what is it you want to talk about, Coyotefur? We'll find out if you review! :) Tell me in that review what you think Coyotefur should do.**


	31. Chapter 29

_**Chapter 29**_

**So yeah. :3 A very quick update, no? Yes. I just couldn't wait. :P Enjoy! And keep in mind that next chapter could be the last one...?**

* * *

Bubblestar's tail curled around her paws, her heart beating faster than before. What was it that Coyotefur wanted to talk about...? They were sitting alone in her den, and Coyotefur looked troubled.

"What...what is it, Coyotefur? What's wrong?" she asked.

He met her gaze. "It's about you and I."

Her heart turned to ice. Did he not love her anymore—

But before she could worry any longer about his reason, he spoke again. "How will this work out? We can't keep seeing each other while we're in different Clans."

Bubblestar blinked sadly. "I know..."

Coyotefur opened his mouth to say something else, but Honeyclaw's voice cut him off. "And so the question arises."

The RiverClan leader looked over at the medicine cat curiously. "Honeyclaw? What is it? What question?"

Honeyclaw stepped further into the den and sat down beside Coyotefur. "Do you remember what Riverstar said to you in your dream?"

Bubblestar was taken aback. "My dream?" she asked dazedly.

The medicine cat tilted her head. "About the bloodlines."

Bubblestar's eyes widened. "'The bloodline will once again be pure soon enough,'" she recited, remembering the old RiverClan leader's words.

Honeyclaw nodded. "I have been in contact with Cheetahspots. She has also had a dream about the matter."

Coyotefur stood. "About what matter? About me? About Bubblestar?"

Honeyclaw's ears twitched irritably. "Sit down, child."

The WindClan warrior hesitated, and then sat again, grumbling.

"The leaders and their servants were derived from the same Clan. But somewhere along the line, the RiverClan servant kin got moved to WindClan," Honeyclaw continued.

Silence hung in the air as the information sunk in.

"So...Coyotefur doesn't belong in WindClan?" Bubblestar asked, confused and worried. "That's not fair. It's no surprise that after all those years, the line switched over to WindClan."

Honeyclaw looked Bubblestar directly in the eye. "Except it wasn't. Not until Barkfang, as a kit, was switched to a WindClan litter."

Bubblestar closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Why did her life have to be complicated because of things that had happened before she was even born—rather, sent?

"Another conspiracy?" she muttered.

Coyotefur was frowning. "What?"

Honeyclaw yawned. She was noticeably tired and irritable, as she had been since the attack. Only now was her load lightening up. "I shan't beat around the bush. I'm going to give you a straight answer."

"Thank StarClan," Bubblestar mewed dryly. "Those have been non-existent lately."

"Sapphirestone had a litter of kittens long ago. Two of the three died of greencough. The one that remained was the late Barkfang. His father was the Phantom Cat, and at the time he had started to scout around the whole forest, looking for his master, instead of just in RiverClan. Just after Barkfang was born, his father got into a spat with a warrior in another Clan as he was crossing from RiverClan. He was caught off guard because he had been caught, and he was killed. Brutally."

A chill settled in the den. Bubblestar shifted, suddenly extremely uncomfortable. Coyotefur sat completely still.

Before Honeyclaw could start again, Coyotefur asked, "Who was it? Which cat killed my father's father?"

"Chipmunkstripe."

The chill got colder, and Bubblestar's fur was standing on end. It was as if the frightening she-cat's spirit was in the room with them.

Coyotefur barked out a laugh with no humour. "Too bad she's already dead. I never got my proper revenge on her." Bubblestar was surprised at the coldness in his voice.

"Sapphirestone understood that Chipmunkstripe was insane. She knew that she might come after her and her kits, and that was the last thing she wanted. So she pretended all three of her kits had died of greencough and sent Barkfang to a litter in WindClan so he would be safe. Not long after that, she became leader; and not long after that, Chipmunkstripe was exiled."

Bubblestar swallowed before she spoke. "Why didn't Barkfang come back to RiverClan after Chipmunkstripe was exiled?"

"He had fallen in love. With WindClan, and with Coyotefur's mother." She shook her head. "He didn't want to leave WindClan, and put all his hope for the Phantom Cat job on his father's theory; that the Riverstar line had eventually moved to another Clan."

Bubblestar frowned as she mulled this over. "So then...what did happen to the real Riverstar line? Why—why was I necessary?"

"Because the last of the Riverstar line died long, long ago in battle," Honeyclaw explained. She suddenly looked over at Coyotefur, who was staring at the ground with a lost look in his eyes. His mouth hung open slightly. "You belong in RiverClan. Cranestar knows that. Some of the cats in WindClan know that. And some of the cats in RiverClan know that." She cocked her head to the side. "And after the battle, the RiverClan cats respect you. I wonder if they'd react so strongly if you—"

"I'm not moving." Coyotefur's stern voice echoed around the cave as he cut the medicine cat off. She looked stunned.

"Coyotefur?" Bubblestar tried not to sound hurt by the hard certainty in his voice. Hadn't he at least considered leaving his Clan for her before?

But the silver warrior stood and swept coldly out of the den without another word. Honeyclaw still looked stunned, and turned slowly to watch him leave.

It took Bubblestar a moment to collect herself again before she jumped up and went after Coyotefur.

He was already out of the camp. He must have stormed out, because Feathersong and the two other warriors that had met him when he came in were frozen, with wide and confused eyes. The friendly Coyotefur that had come in was not the one that had left.

The RiverClan leader dashed into the forest after him, following his scent and her heart. _Coyotefur! _she yelled angrily in her mind. But she knew he wouldn't come at her call this time.

Finally, she caught a glimpse of his shining pelt. She sped up. "Coyotefur!" she called out. He ignored her. "Coyotefur!" she yowled again, anger rising in her. What reason did he have to be angry at her?

She ran around in front of him and barrelled into him, knocking both of them over. "Coyotefur, don't ignore me when I'm trying to talk to you!"

"What are you doing, you mouse-brain!" he hissed, and she winced at his acid tone. "Why shouldn't I ignore you? Because you're my _master?_"

Bubblestar was completely bewildered. She had never seen him act like this in all the moons she had known him. "Because you're my friend," she whispered, pain evident in her voice. "And I _love _you. And I'm trying to _help _you."

"Well you're not doing a very good job!" he spat, his voice rising. He tried to shoulder past her, but the anger she had felt building up earlier boiled over and came gushing out.

"Why are you being such an idiot?" she yelled. "You're attitude right now is like mouse-bile! You don't need to act like this after hearing something like that!"

He wheeled around on her, baring his teeth in a fierce snarl. "'Something like that?'" he repeated furiously. "You can't pass off finding out you grew up in a lie as _'something like that!'" _

She snarled back. "Well you don't have to take your anger out on _me! _Or Honeyclaw, or anyone! We didn't do anything wrong, Chipmunkstripe did! And now she's dead! So please, just calm down!"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" he roared, his claws sinking into the earth beneath him. "You have no idea what this feels like, so just _shut up!_"

Her eyes widened as far as they'd ever gone and her nostrils flared. She could've sworn smoke was coming out of them, she was so enraged. She spoke through teeth grit together so hard she was surprised at how clear her voice was. "_No idea what this feels like?" _she echoed dangerously, speaking slowly. "_No idea? _WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?" she exploded. "_You _grew up in a lie? Your father was placed in a different litter when he was a kit because his mother was protecting him. And then you both grew up in WindClan. Oh, NO! Your life is OVER! At least YOU had real parents! At least YOU'RE REAL, and not some ghost cat sent from StarClan! You think YOU were lied to? WHY DON'T YOU _GROW UP_ AND QUIT ACTING LIKE A _KIT_!"

The tension and ferocity crackled in the air for a moment before Coyotefur's lip curled into a deeper snarl and he turned his back on her.

* * *

**Oh dear. Another short chapter. Oh, I mean, a fight. :3 How will this be resolved? What do you think of Coyotefur's reaction? Tell me in a review!**


	32. Chapter 30

_**Chapter 30**_

**Technically...this is the last chapter. :o The next one will be the epilogue...I'll write all the sappy stuff there. For now, enjoy this one! :)**

* * *

Darkness fell, casting a shadow over the forest. The moon was full, but it didn't seem to be as bright as usual to Bubblestar. Maybe it was her own feelings that were blotting out the light? Two days had passed and she hadn't heard anything from Coyotefur since he had stormed away. She was still angry at him for being so insensitive. After all that had happened, she almost hadn't been surprised to hear something like that. Apparently, Coyotefur had been.

She collected her group for the Gathering and they set out. She knew Coyotefur would be there, but she didn't know if she'd want to talk to him or not. She remained silent for the whole journey, letting Nightfur do all the talking.

Of course, when they actually reached the Gathering, she wouldn't be able to get away with that. Though she didn't feel like it, she had to speak for the other Clans.

She jumped up to take her spot and waited for ThunderClan to show up. Cranestar and Darkstar sat on either side of her, watching their Clans mingle. Bubblestar noticed the WindClan leader glancing at her now again, but she was too busy combing through the crowd for Coyotefur to register it.

"Bubblestar," she meowed suddenly after a while. "Coyotefur isn't here."

Bubblestar looked up in alarm. "Why not?"

Cranestar cocked her head to the side. "I think you should know why. He is still upset about his recent discovery."

Bubblestar ground her teeth and flicked her ears in annoyance. "He's being childish and foolish."

"You must feel some sympathy for him, Bubblestar."

"I had to go through something much worse than he is. And yet he told me I wouldn't understand. I would have felt sympathy, empathy, if he hadn't been so insensitive." Her mood darkened further as she recalled the event again.

Cranestar sighed. "You realize eventually he'll have to go back to RiverClan."

The RiverClan leader's eyes widened slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Cheetahspots and Honeyclaw have been sharing dreams lately, since you fulfilled your prophecy." As she spoke, ThunderClan leaked into the clearing. "You'll have to ask them yourself later."

And so the Gathering began. All of the Clans had had problems because of the "zoo" animals escaping, but all was well now. There were no more strange creatures in the forest. Bubblestar reported that Ribbonflame, Feathersong and Wreathberry were now warriors and they had new apprentices as well. The Gathering was concluded soon after that.

Bubblestar raced over to where the four medicine cats and their apprentices sat. Since the last time she had seen Cheetahspots, her apprentice, Inkpaw, had become a warrior—Inkpool.

"Honeyclaw, Cheetahspots," she panted. "Please, tell me about your dreams."

The two medicine cats exchanged a glance. Inkpool watched intently, her tail swishing. Cheetahspots began. "In our dreams, a coyote is being swept away by the wind."

"Then he finds a river, and jumps into it. The wind stops—" Honeyclaw continued.

"And bubbles rise up from the river as the water warms up. The coyote settles comfortably in the water," Cheetahspots finished.

Bubblestar's jaw hung open. She couldn't think of anything to say. Then she looked at Honeyclaw and meowed, "Aren't you supposed to come to me first when you have a sign from StarClan?"

Honeyclaw chuckled. "In this case, I went to Cheetahspots and Cranestar first. When Cheetahspots was having the same dream, and even Inkpool was having flashes of it, I knew what it meant, and that what it meant was meant to be."

Ignoring the confusion of the sentence, Bubblestar asked, "What is meant to be...?"

"It should be obvious," Inkpool interjected sharply. "Coyotefur belongs in RiverClan now."

Bubblestar didn't dare let her heart leap for joy. "He...? But...won't that cause problems?"

"That's another part of the dream," Inkpool went on. "When the coyote jumps into the river, the water warms up. That means RiverClan will warm up to Coyotefur. And the coyote's loving it, especially when the bubbles start to come up out of the water. Obviously, that's you. So therefore, you won't have very many problems with it. Coyotefur won't be rejected by the Clan. He'll be warm and cozy in RiverClan, with you by his side."

Cheetahspots purred. "Well said, Inkpool. And well analysed."

Inkpool's mouth curled into a smile.

Bubblestar's brain was working hard. "Well...how can we tell him that? Will he even listen?"

Honeyclaw sighed. "That's the problem. The sooner he comes to RiverClan, the better. But if he's so mad, I don't know if..."

"I think he will," Inkpool mewed, a glint in her eyes.

Cheetahspots stiffened. "What have you done this time, Inkpool?"

Inkpool grinned. "Before we left, I blew some bubbles from a cobweb ring in front of his den. I'm pretty sure he'll think it was a sign from StarClan that he needs to go see you."

"Inkpool!" Cheetahspots scolded, but she was smiling.

"Come on, Honeyclaw, let's head home," Bubblestar mewed suddenly.

Honeyclaw exchanged another glance, amused, with Cheetahspots before she turned and joined the cluster of RiverClan cats getting ready to leave.

* * *

As soon as the hurried journey back to camp was over, Bubblestar told Nightfur she would be back soon and raced off toward the border between RiverClan and WindClan.

She didn't want to cross the territory and cause problems, especially since now that she was leader. So she stopped at the border and looked around, hoping she would see the Phantom Cat she was looking for.

She didn't have to look hard. Coyotefur came bursting out of the bushes in front of her and skidded to a halt. He stood upright, panting, and looked at her with shame.

"Bubblestar..." he started hesitantly. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out on you like that."

"I know," she purred, rasping her tongue over his ear affectionately. Then she stepped back.

Coyotefur blinked. "What's wrong?"

Bubblestar told him about their medicine cat's dreams. He stood still for a while after, brooding. Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"What do you think?" she asked, her tail tip twitching.

He looked over his shoulder. "I...I need to talk to Cranestar about this."

Bubblestar opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and just nodded. With one last glance at her, he ran back to his Clan.

* * *

Inkpool knew immediately that Coyotefur had seen Bubblestar and they had forgiven each other when she saw him rush into camp and go straight to Cranestar's den. She smiled a little. Her fake sign had worked. She silently apologized to StarClan for pretending to be them.

"Cheetahspots," she called back to her mentor.

The older cat turned around. "Hm?"

"I just saw Coyotefur. And he was sure in a rush to see Cranestar," she mewed with an amused tone.

Cheetahspots flashed her a grin. "Congratulations. You're sign worked."

Inkpool giggled and sorted through some herbs that didn't need to be sorted through. Cheetahspots straightened suddenly, staring at her.

"He'll be asking to move to RiverClan now, I suppose," the medicine cat mused, glancing out the entrance to her den, where a small crowd was gathering around the den. She figured news had already spread. "He can be where he belongs. With the one he belongs with. His search is finally over. He can rest and enjoy his life properly now."

"Mm," Inkpool agreed, still inspecting things that didn't need inspecting.

Cheetahspots cocked her head to the side. "Inkpool," she meowed. "I rarely see you like this."

Inkpool made a quiet hissing sound. Cheetahspots smiled.

"I know you care about him. But he's going to be happy now," she continued. Inkpool drew in a breath but Cheetahspots spoke again before her. "Yes, he was happy here too. But not without Bubblestar."

Her back still turned to her mentor, Inkpool nodded.

Cheetahspots turned abruptly to the opening of her den again. "I think he's coming out. Do you want to go see him?"

Inkpool inhaled. "In a minute."

Cheetahspots sighed. "You can't hide it from me, Inkpool, foolish child."

Inkpool turned around to face her mentor, her lip trembling and her tears making trails in her fur. She buried her face in Cheetahspots' fur with a moan.

"I'm going to miss him so much," she breathed, her voice high and quiet with her tears.

"I know," Cheetahspots whispered. "I am, too."

* * *

Coyotefur had a strange feeling in his body as he walked back calmly to meet Bubblestar. Like he was floating, like he was just in a dream. But he knew it was very much real.

Cranestar had smiled and nodded. She had been expecting the question. He suspected Firestone had too. He'd had moisture in his eyes as Coyotefur told him goodbye. So had Coyotefur. His goodbyes with everyone else hadn't been nearly as emotional as the one with his oldest friend. Well, it might have been if he had seen Inkpool and Cheetahspots. But he was kind of glad he hadn't. Then he would have completely broken down.

Bubblestar stood immediately when he approached. There was an excited light in her eyes. It made him feel excited, too. Along with the warm feeling he got every time he saw her. _And now, _he thought, _I can see her every single day._ The thought made him walk faster, a grin breaking out on his face.

When he got closer, Bubblestar asked, "Everything went okay?"

He nodded, unable to calm his grin. It had infected Bubblestar, as well. "Yes."

Her eyes shone, as did her smile. "You're going to join RiverClan?"

His grin got bigger. He hadn't even thought it was possible. He nodded again, twining his tail with Bubblestar's. "Yes."

* * *

**Weeelll, that's the official end of it, folks! But don't worry, there's gonna be an epilogue too.**

**Man, this fic was...I think this is my oldest fic up. O.o OHMYGAGA. I just finished my very first surviving fanfiction. :D After like, two years, it's finally finished. :3 I hope you liked it. And I hope you like the epilogue too. X) Hee hee ~ Remember to REVIEW and ask whatever questions you have cuz soon you won't be able to anymore ~ GIGGLE **


	33. Epilogue

_**Warriors: Unknown Origin: Epilogue**_

* * *

Bubblestar took a deep breath. She called for RiverClan to gather around her, even though all of the cats were already crowded around Stone Mound. They knew what was going on, and they watched on with sad expressions.

Nightfur jumped up beside her, and touched his tail-tip to her shoulder. He gave her an encouraging nod, and she smiled back gratefully. Her decision was only fuelled when she saw the grey streaks in her deputy's fur, and the white in her own whiskers.

"RiverClan," she called, her voice loud and even, "today is an important day. Today . . . my deputy, Nightfur, and I are retiring from our positions."

A murmur started up in the crowd; they'd known it was coming but it still came as a shock.

Bubblestar smiled, a little sadly. "We have had a long and adventurous journey—too long," she added with a wink. "And now it's time that we handed it over to some cat more capable than ourselves."

"You're still capable, Bubblestar," Wreathberry called out.

Bubblestar chuckled. "I have only two lives left after all that has happened. Just recently I almost got it down to one. And my old bones deteriorating—I am not as fast and nimble as I once was. And so...Nightfur and I have come to a unanimous decision that Ribbonflame will be your new leader."

Ribbonflame looked up, in a slight daze, it seemed. He padded quickly over to stand beside Bubblestar—Bubblewing—and Nightfur.

"Welcome, Ribbonstar," Bubblewing meowed with a grin.

Ribbonstar grinned back, sheer joy sparkling in his eyes. "Thank you so much, Bubblewing. You've been an amazing leader, never making a mistake," he mewed. "Well, maybe not _never _making a mistake, but..." A chuckle rippled through the crowd as Ribbonstar grinned again. Bubblewing cuffed him playfully over the head with her paw. "Really," he meowed, sincerity now pure in his voice, "thank you."

Bubblewing blinked away her tears and told them not to come back. "You're going to be great, Ribbonstar."

RiverClan chanted their new leader's name. When that died down, another cat started a new chant—"Deputy! Deputy!"

Ribbonstar looked around and almost immediately locked his eyes on a warrior in the crowd. "My new deputy will be Glassfang."

The silver tom stepped gracefully through the crowd, his pelt shining almost as much as his excited eyes. Glassfang jumped up onto Stone Mound.

"Glassfang! Glassfang! Glassfang!" the cats shouted.

Glassfang grinned at Ribbonstar, then at Bubblewing and Nightfur. When the meeting had been dispersed, Ribbonstar asked to see his deputy in the leader's den. As the silvery tom's pelt brushed against the previous leader's, Bubblewing murmured, "Your father would have been proud."

* * *

Bubblewing sat on Stone Mound late that night, staring at the near-full moon. Before she knew it, tears had bubbled up in her eyes. She would miss being leader so much. But she knew it was time for her to retire and give a new warrior a chance. And who better to be leader than the very cat whom she had trained when he was an apprentice? She had complete faith in him.

She lay her head down on her paws, silently letting the tears flow. All the while she stared up at the moon, at the stars. One twinkled especially bright at her as the memories of her life as leader came rushing back to her.

* * *

Bubblestar stepped on Coyotefur's tail by accident in her excitement. He yelped in pain, and she hastily apologized.

"What? What are you so excited about?" he asked, weakly laughing off the pain.

Bubblestar leaned her face closer to his, breathing in his comforting scent. It only made her heart beat faster.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

Bubblestar smiled fondly as she watched Ribbonflame pretend to lose pitifully against Pumpkinkit, Glasskit, Orangekit and Acornkit. But they were too old now to be fooled so easily.

Glasskit whacked the warrior with his small paw. "We're not mouse-brains, you know!"

"Not anymore, at least," Ribbonflame retorted with a grin.

"_We're _not, but you are," Acornkit giggled.

Ribbonflame bared his teeth at her playfully.

"Train us for real," Orangekit put in, stamping her paw on the ground.

Ribbonflame rolled over so he could stand again. "You're going to be apprentices soon," he meowed. "You'll be trained then."

Bubblestar walked over to them. Her kits crowded around her gleefully. "Yes, soon you'll be even better than Ribbonflame."

"Maybe not _better,_" the saffron warrior meowed.

"Well it wouldn't be hard," Bubblestar told him with a grin, flicking her tail at him. Her kits all squealed in a laugh.

Coyotefur came running over, a flash of silver. Glasskit was the spitting image of him, and Orangekit looked a lot like him as well, but with flecks of copper spread around her pelt. Pumpkinkit looked like his mother, and Acornkit was also like Bubblestar but her fur was more bronze than grey.

Coyotefur dropped the small piece of fresh-kill, and the kits squealed again. They were excited to be eating real food as opposed to milk supplied by a surrogate mother. (Brightpelt, who was also nursing, had fed the leader's kits her milk because Bubblestar wasn't producing enough, and she also had her duties as leader)

As they watched their kits eat, Bubblestar let out a purr as her tail intertwined with Coyotefur's.

* * *

Bubblestar breathed in the fresh air of new-leaf, with Glasspaw, Pumpkinpaw, Orangepaw and Acornpaw flanking her. They had been hunting together, and had just come to dig up their prey and bring it back to camp.

As she trotted along, the RiverClan leader noticed they were passing the spot where she had met Coyotefur as an apprentice. Warmth flooded her heart as the memories came back to her. He had saved her life then. And many other times. She couldn't live without him, that was an understatement. She smiled and caught up with the four apprentices.

When they got back to camp, darkness was falling. After she dropped her fresh-kill on the pile, Coyotefur intercepted her on her way to her den.

"Yes?" she purred.

He was smiling, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. "I think we should just escape together tonight."

Bubblestar paused, and then a smile of her own crept its way onto her features. They snuck off, back to that very spot where they met to just have the night to themselves.

* * *

Bubblestar felt her heart would shatter. She was certain she could live no longer, absolutely certain. Her soul had just been ripped out of her. She couldn't take a step. She couldn't make a sound. She could only stare ahead of her, agony threatening to tear her to pieces.

She couldn't go on. Not with Coyotefur dead.

"He's with StarClan now, Mother," Acornfire mewed in an attempt to comfort her. But how could she, when she was depressed herself? "Don't worry..."

Bubblestar said nothing back.

She just cursed badgers right down to their horrid souls.

* * *

Bubblestar felt much older. Her bones clicked and occasionally creaked when she ran or sat slowly. The muscles around her shoulders ached and her tail felt heavy.

Bubblestar hadn't withdrawn for long. She was on her feet and talking again a day and a half after her mate died. But Nightfur had had to take on the heavier duties of leader until Bubblestar could fully get over her depression.

After about a moon, Bubblestar dreamed of Coyotefur. He had spoken to her. He was safe in StarClan. She didn't have to worry.

And she didn't really, after that. She was back to her normal self, mostly, after that. Except for the physical problems her depression had introduced.

She was kind of ashamed that she had been so affected by Coyotefur's death, but she quickly got back in the groove of things and was in control again before the next Gathering.

When she reported Coyotefur's death at that Gathering, a silence fell over the crowd and it was easy to tell that he would be missed.

* * *

As Bubblestar lay weeping on Stone Mound, she could feel a warmth on her pelt that was unmistakably Coyotefur's. She breathed in shakily and caught his scent faintly. Her heart swelled and her tears stopped. She fell asleep on the rock, the moon and the stars shining brightly, warm and comforted.

Her life had been her own. Though she was sent from StarClan to finish a prophecy and wasn't born normally, she had her family. And she'd made her own family. Plus she had fulfilled the prophecy. Her life had ups and downs, but the result was that she was happy.

Through her tears, she smiled wearily, thanking StarClan for her happiness.

* * *

**I think the ending was kind of stupid, but...that's the ending, everyone! :) I hope you liked it...I liked how I went from the end and then scrolled through the rest and back again, hopefully you did too. :P **

**Man, I can't believe it's done now. O.o I'm free! XD Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing this story for, what, two years now? Especially Vixenfur and Dragonheart, you guys are awesome. ;) **

**Please leave one final review! :D Hopefully it won't be on how stupid that last line was, but how much you enjoyed the story, right? RIGHT!**

**XD Thanks again to everyone, I hope you enjoyed the story! I enjoyed writing it for you! Bye ~**


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